Deader than Dead: Life after Death
by shadowtiger23
Summary: Sequel to Deader than Dead. After months of isolation, David and the others find out there may be other survivors after hearing a faint radio transmition. Is it salvation or something else?
1. Just another day

Here is the sequel to my first story, Deader than Dead. The viewpoint will be a multiple third-person instead of David's point of view. I hope you guys enjoy reading it.

Ch. 1

_Bradford gets the ball and charges his way up the court. Only five seconds are remaining in the Championship game for the NCAA title. His team is behind by two points. All hopes rest on him._

_Four..three...two...Bradford heaves the ball between half-court and three-point-line. The buzzer sounds just as the ball swishes through the hoop. Nothing but net. The opposing team drops their heads in defeat as the crowds go nuts._

_Bradford raises his hands as his teams swarms him and raises him onto their shoulders. He had finally done it. He won the highest award possible and broke the record in scoring in a game. There was nothing that could top this moment. Absolutely no-_

"Are you daydreaming again?" a voice called out, breaking Kevin out of his thoughts.

"Maybe," Kevin scoffed.

"Well, pay attention to the road. I don't want to be roadkill for zombies," Christopher said.

Kevin groaned and shook his head, trying to focus on driving down the street.

_It doesn't matter. The streets are clear enough and their isn't exactly any traffic. Why do I always get paired with the Manager?_

But then again, it wasn't always like this. Running for their lives, hiding out in abandoned stores and eating nothing but canned food. However, things were easier now than they had been.

Back in October, Kevin was in his senior year at high school. Straight-A student and the highest scorer on his basketball team. Even though he had no parents and lived in the school dorms, he was happy. He had his best friend, David, giving him motivation to succeed. All of his teammates supported him and Kevin gave them confidence. And finally, he just went out on a date with a girl named Kelly, who he realized was someone special.

Then, Z-Day came as Kevin came to call it. By some unknown reason, a virus or some act of God brought chaos to the world and turned a majority of people into undead cannibals called zombies. He had witnessed it firsthand. Two people in the same dorm as him broke into his room and began feasting on his roommate while he was still alive. Kevin had woken up to his dying gasps. He fought of the zombies and rushed his friend to nurses station when his friend died, then came to feast on Kevin. He was lucky and escaped.

Later, he ran into David and found that his family was dead too. They tried to rescue his father, but they were too late. Then, they found Diane, David's current girlfriend, and together made camp in an abandoned Wal-Mart store. They were able to arm themselves with firearms and turn the store into an impenetrable fortress. But they learned that the world leaders had rallied together and had been forced to destroy several major cities in order to contain the zombie outbreak without even trying to save the people who were still alive.

After a few days of trying to survive, they discovered other survivors scattered throughout the city. Kevin and David set up a search party to and look for them, each one finding a group of survivors. Kevin's party was able to use his survivor's vehicles and pick up David's. They got back safely. The only one that was injured was David.

The best part about that rescue was Kelly was a member of David's group. Kevin was overjoyed to see her and she felt the same about him. Since then, they spent all of their time together.

That was in October. If they kept up with the current time, it was now August 25. They had survived 9 months so far in this chaotic world, fighting zombies and their sanity.

The winter months proved to be the toughest challenge. The cold weather didn't seem to slow the zombies down, but it did keep everyone else on their toes. All the meats, produce, and dairy product had either been spoiled or had been eaten They only thing they had to live on were canned goods, freeze-dried food, and water. They also had to run the generator in the store only on spare occasions because of the dangers outside. The snow and cold had made it dangerous to get fuel and the gas station they had previously used had run out of fuel. The nearest one was nearly five miles away so they used the generator once a week for a full day. Everyone inside was always wearing several layers of clothes just to keep warm.

Then there was the depression. Being stuck in a store for several months, eating canned food and not being able to go outside, even on the roof, was able to even drive Kevin up the wall. Even with a store full of toys, games, movies and music, it was still not enough to cheer them up. Pretty much all kinds of cabin fever had settled inside the building. Even David, who was usually passive, was about to go nuts from being kept inside.

Then tragedy struck. Greg, a trucker from Miami and one of Kevin's survivors, found out his family had probably been killed when he learned that his home city had been one of the cities destroyed by the world leaders. He refused to eat or talk to any of us. He eventually starved. They had to dispose of his body by wrapping it and burning it on a pyre on top of the roof. Everybody knew it wasn't a proper burial, but it was all that they could do.

Then there was one of the fuels they made in January during a snowstorm. Jake lead a group of three to get the remaining gas that was running out at the gas station. It was the first time Gloria, one of David's survivor's and a night school student, went out into the field. She was overconfident in her limited abilities and an disappeared when she checked the perimeter around the station. The weather was getting worse, but Jake continued to search for her for nearly a half hour before David ordered him to return to the store.

They found Gloria a month later, her body torn to shreds.

But there was some good news. When the zombies first arrived, they pretty much had the same capabilities as they did when their bodies were alive. Speed, strength, agility. David called these kind of zombies 'Runners'. But after about month, they found out that their bodies were deteriorating. Beginning to rot away. The zombies had slowed down from a fast pace to a staggering walk. Their primal screams and yells had now become grunts and moans. Just like in the old movies. Kelly had dubbed these zombies 'Stiffs'.

This allowed everybody to gain an upper hand on the zombies. When spring came and the zombies were in an advance state of decomposition, Kevin lead a offensive attack against the Stiffs that had surrounded the store. He and several other survivors with a handful of weapons were able to wipe out all of the zombies that remained outside. They're were still a lot in the town, scattered throughout the area. So the objective was to hunt down and kill what zombies remained. That has been the objective for the summer..

That's what Kevin and Christopher were doing now along with several others. They were riding in a jeep that Kevin 'borrowed' from a dealership outside of the city a few months ago.

"Do you think the smell of death will ever go away," Christopher asked.

Kevin sniffed the air and answered. "Nothing lasts forever. Everything has to end at one point in time."

"So whose time is over? Us or them?"

"It's going to be us. I guarantee it."

Christopher laughed. "You sound so sure. Remember what David told us the other day? There hasn't been anything new on the internet for nearly three months. No TV or Radio either. You think after all this time that something would be up if we were winning."

"Have a little faith, Chris," Kevin said.

"It's Christopher. How many times do I have to tell you?"

Kevin sighed. Christopher was the assistant manager at a Burger King where Kevin found his survivors. He had this conduct that everything should be in strict order so nothing is disorganized. Heather called him Hitler's ghost.

But Kevin could see his point. Nothing new was on the only source of communication to the outside world: the internet. Somehow, cyber space was still active around the world and was still broadcasting information. At least until a few months ago.

Not only that, every time a search party went out to check the perimeters to see if any Stiffs were around, there would always be one present. The group could wipe out a sector one day and there would the same amount the next day. Bodies were pilling up in the streets and were really starting to stink. It was a never ending battle.

And just last week, Kevin found that they were running out of ammunition.

"And look now, we have company," Christopher said.

Kevin slowed the jeep to a stop and gazed forward. Three Stiffs were staggering in the streets toward them. They had decomposed so much that it was difficult to see what gender they were. They just looked like walking clay figures with tattered clothes and dried blood on them.

Kevin put the jeep in 'park' and got out.

"I got this," he said.

He walked up towards the group and reached over his shoulder for his weapon. Instead of a firearm, Kevin pulled a sword from its sheath. David had found this sword several months ago in a pawn shop. Because he was a terrible shot with a gun, David had given him this blade. Kevin had to admit that he liked the sword better then the gun. It never ran out of ammunition.

The blade was four feet long and ended in a two-hand grip handle with red and black diamond stitching. The scabbard matched the design.

Seeing Kevin get out of the car caused the Stiffs to hurried forward, hobbling in stiff knees. Kevin walked to the first one and swung the blade towards the Stiff's neck. The blade sliced cleanly through the rotted flesh and spinal cord. The head spun through the air before landing on the pavement. The headless body collapsed in a heap, but the severed head kept trying to take bites at Kevin.

The other two came at the same time on either side of Kevin this time. Kevin swung the blade at the second zombie's neck, but the zombie shifted at the last moment. The sword instead was driven into its shoulder. Kevin tried to jerk the sword away; however, it was stuck there. The last zombie staggered forward to take advantage of Kevin's predicament. With his hands still on the sword, Kevin used a front kick to knock the third back and finally got his sword free.

Kevin swung his sword over his head and sliced through the second Stiff's skull in a downward strike, slicing the skull in half. The third Stiff had recovered from the kick and hurried forward again. Kevin swung his sword in a horizontal arc and cleanly chopped the top half of the last Stiff's skull. The body fell to the ground.

Kevin turned around and faced Christopher. "How was that?" he asked.

Christopher shrugged. "Nothing new."

Kevin sheathed his sword and walked back to the jeep. The first Stiff's head was still growling and moaning. Kevin stepped forward and smashed his heel into the temple of the head. It crushed like a grape as it gave one last groan.

"Now that was just disgusting," Christopher said.

"Part of the job. They're not dead until the brain is destroyed."

Christopher nodded. "Yeah, yeah. Let's just get to the next sector. I want to get done before we head back."

Kevin got back into the jeep and drove down the street, swerving to avoid the bodies in he just decapitated.

"This is what I was talking about," Christopher started. "We wiped out nearly 15 zombies yesterday in this sector alone, 11 this morning and 3 just now. And just think about what everybody else is going through It's like the Hydra dragon: every time we cut off a head, three more come back."

"We have to keep trying," Kevin sighed. "It's the only thing we can do."

"I still think it's useless."

_That's it! Tonight, I'm asking David to switch people. I can't stand this guy's whining, _Kevin thought.

But that was going have to wait until later. Right now, Kevin and Christopher had to check two more sectors before they could call it a day. This had become a daily routine for the past few months. Kevin had adjusted to this new life, but he didn't like it even if it was safer know than when Z-Day first started.

Kevin had his future planned. Five different colleges had their eyes on him and were ready to offer him a full athletic and academic scholarships depending on which college he wanted to choose. He even had Duke on his list of colleges that were watching him.

A day never went by when Kevin didn't daydream about playing NCAA basketball. It was his dream. He had hopes that one day he would surpass the greatest players to ever play. Kobe Bryant, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan. He hoped to one day to be the best.

Now his days were spent surviving in a apocalyptic world. There were some benefits he learned while trying to survive though. He learned how to defend himself against any kind of zombie when he didn't have a weapon on hand as well as training with several different types of weapons. He knew how to hot wire a car, properly distill water to purify for drinking, clean and load any kind of firearm and properly take care of his samurai sword as well as properly sharpening the edge. He was lucky it had only one nick on it at the guard with his sword. Any other kind of damage would had been impossible to repair. And if he ever broke the blade, he would be in deep trouble.

Not only that, he had become stronger and faster than ever before. His speed was more than a match for a Runner and he could easily knocked down the toughest zombie.

His looks had changed as well. His blond hair had become longer and shaggier, coming down to his jaw. He had grown another couple of inches, towering over everybody at the store. He cut the sleeves out of his shirts because arms were too big to fit. His had picked up a couple of scars from either accidents from his sword or from trying to bust through windows to escape from Runners earlier in the year. He always wore running shoes and a pair of runner shorts for quick escapes. Elbow and knee pads covered his joints to add padding to strikes or in case he fell down and injured himself.

Kevin brushed the hair out of his eyes as he continued to drive down the street.

_Kelly's right. I'm going to need a haircut soon._

Thinking about Kelly made him smile. They met about a week before Z-Day struck. She had just move to town the day they met and he was assigned as her guide through the school. He was instantly infatuated with her the moment he laid eyes on her face. They spent the whole day touring the campus while he was trying to gather the courage to say something that wasn't school related. At the end of the day, when she thanked him for the tour and was walking home, he blurted out a quick request for a date.

She stared at him for a few silent seconds with a blank expression on her face. Kevin was really sweating at this point, almost regretting the decision of asking her the day he met her. He should have waited a few days, but it seemed like his mouth moved without him commanding it too.

Then Kelly smiled and said yes. She set the date for the following day and said what she liked to eat, then walked away. Kevin was frozen for a few minutes as he watched her walk away. When she turned around a corner and disappeared, he jumped for joy while screaming at the top of his lungs. Later at basketball practice, he seemed to be lighter and faster that the coach asked him if he was on steroids. Then had to do a drug test.

His thoughts continued on Kelly until a beep, then a voice, brought him out of his thoughts. It was his radio.

"_Samurai, this is Veteran. Over?"_

Veteran. That would be Jake, one of David's survivors and a security guard. He was a man in his forties with thinning hair, but a strong build from his days in Desert Storm. After his tour of duty, he came back and tried to become a police officer. However, due to his record at Juvenile Hall, they turned him down. He tried to fight it, but it was no use. So he had to settle for the position of security guard of the urban district on the north side of town.

But Kevin never took this guy lightly. When Z-Day occurred, Jake got several people out of danger and barricaded them into the skating rink. They had to survive on stale popcorn and pop, but Jake kept them safe. Besides David, Jake was the other guy everyone looked up too.

Kevin picked up the radio. "This is Samurai. Me and Manager have just finished checking the south areas. We're now returning to back to base."

"_Good. Me and Nurse have finished checking the north side of the city. Burger Boy and Blondie called in and are done checking the east side while Nightmare and Firefly are on their way back from the west side."_

"Roger. We'll see you later."

"_Over and out." _

Kevin put the radio back on the dashboard and headed back to the store.

"Why must you guys have codenames while talking on the radio?" Christopher asked.

"Why not?" Kevin shrugged.

"Because it's childish."

Kevin rolled his eyes. "You just don't understand."

"No, I don't. Tell me."

"It's just cool," Kevin stated. It just seemed obvious. Everybody had liked the idea and it just seemed like fun picking out names to call each other over the radio. Christopher didn't pick though. His was just given to him.

"So immature," Christopher sighed.

_Yep. So asking David to switch tomorrow, _Kevin thought.

I'll try to have the next chapter up as soon as I can. But I'm afraid it's going to be bi-weekly updates instead of weekly. I just have too much to do.


	2. David's Struggle

Chapter 2

August 25, 2010 : 6:25 P.M.

The sun was just setting in the west by the time Kevin and Christopher arrived back at the store. All of the areas had been cleared, more fuel for the generator had been picked up, and no Runners had been spotted.

A lot had changed around the store since last October. When Kevin and his friends first arrived, the store was surrounded by hundreds of zombies. Despite being dead, the zombies still seemed to retain their senses of smell, sight and hearing. Their primal instincts were pretty much just tracking and feeding.

But since the Rescue, everybody had put up an effort to eliminate all of the zombies around the area. After months of work and ammunition, the parking lot was finally cleared of dead bodies and abandoned cars. Now, a chain-linked fence surrounded the parking lot and around the store. The poles had been planted firmly into the ground outside the parking lot and spaced every eight feet to ensure that the fence would hold against an attack. There was always at least on person that went around the perimeter and shot any zombies that came near the fence. Positions were rotated every couple of hours.

The current guard, Preston, a.k.a. Big Papa, waved towards Kevin as he pulled into the front gate. Preston was one of the survivors at the ice rink. He tried to get his family out of the city during the chaos, but his van flipped over when he tried to make a sharp turn while being chased by a hoard of Runners. He was able to get his family to safety and barricade themselves inside the rink with Jake and Kelly.

"Hey, Kevin. Did you have a good trip?" Preston asked.

"Same old, same old," Kevin replied. "Killed zombies, tried not get bitten, and got back before supper."

Preston chuckled. "We actually have something good tonight. That is, if you and my wife can do something with it."

"What is it?"

"It's a surprise."

Kevin chuckled. He was one of the cooks here, but didn't complain about feeding everyone. He actually enjoyed it. "Whatever. Just let us in so I can get started on the mystery meal."

Preston unlocked the gate and pulled it to the side as Kevin drove forward. The perimeter of the fence was about half the size of a football field, giving everyone enough room for vehicles and anything big they had to unload. It was also good for a few games of catch and basketball as well.

Kevin parked in front of the south side entrance. He left the keys in the ignition and grabbed his sword from the backseat. Christopher grabbed the spare shotgun and began to unload it.

"See you at dinner," Kevin said. Christopher gave a small wave as he grabbed his pack from the backseat as well.

The doors opened automatically as Kevin walked to the front. It amazed him that the doors still worked while the electricity was being run on a generator. They left it on constantly to keep the air conditioner and the refrigerators on because the heat got really bad during this time of the year.

"How many did you get today," a voice called from the middle of the aisle. Sitting on a couch in front of a small tv was Jake and his girlfriend, Sara.

Sara, a.k.a. Nurse, was a nurse at the Jefferson City hospital. She was swamped with injuries and the undead when Z-Day occurred and was forced to abandoned the hospital where she got picked up by Jake at the ice rink. Since then, she and Jake had gotten really close. She had long, dark hair, green eyes, and the build of a runner, like Kevin. But her specialty, besides treating our injuries, was sniping. Pretty much any zombie that was withing a block away was dead meat if their heads met with her rifle scope.

They've tried to make the store as roomy as possible. Whenever they could, everyone would go on a trip and bring a few things from their old homes to bring to the store. Pictures, furniture, beds. This helped everyone with their depression and gave them a sense of home.

"14. How about you two?" Kevin asked.

"12. I swear those things screwing with each other and having more zombies made. There is no other explanation."

Kevin laughed. "Thanks. I'll remind you of that while you're eating tonight."

"Don't. The last thing I want in my head is a dead orgy," Sara shuddered. "What are you making tonight by the way?"

"I don't know. It's going to be a surprise."

"Whatever," Jake scoffed. "Just be sure to tell David your number of kills."

Kevin nodded and walked off. He needed to talk to Helen, Preston's wife, aka Hot Mama, before he talked to David. She and her two children, Larry and Rebecca, stayed in the toy section of the store with their father. Rebecca insisted that they would stay there so she could always have a place to play. Larry agreed to that as well. But their parents made a condition that if they stayed there, they would have to continue the schoolwork using the textbooks and learning games they had there as well. Helen, after all, still wanted her children to have a proper education. You know, just in case.

Sure enough, they were working on their homework when Kevin arrived. 10-year-old Larry was working on his math while 8-year-old Rebecca was playing a spelling game on one of the tv's.

"Working hard, kids?" Kevin asked.

Larry jumped up and ran to Kevin. "Did you bring me anything?"

"Nope. Not today," Kevin replied. Larry, for some odd reason, saw Kevin as a big brother. He would always play video games and basketball whenever he had the opportunity and Kevin would treat him like an equal, not a child.

"Larry, hurry up and finish your work," Helen scolded, then turned to Kevin. "Did you Preston tell you what we got tonight?"

"Nope. Just said it was a surprise. So what are we having tonight?"

Helen smiled and leaned forward to whisper in his ear. When she pulled back, Kevin eyes were wide in surprise.

"Really? You mean you two actually got some?"

Helen nodded. "Those books were really helpful. We were able to properly process it without damaging it."

Kevin smiled. "Tonight's going to be a good night."

Helen nodded, her blond locks dancing around her head. "Yep. Dinner's in half an hour."

"Could you get it started? I've got to tell David our number of kills today," Kevin said.

"Sure. Oh, he's got something to tell you as well."

* * *

_Come on....just a few more seconds.... _David thought.

There was a loud beep and David groaned in relief as the treadmill slowed to a stop. He hopped off and limped to a couch Kevin and Jake had brought from his old house at his request. The cool leather soothed his tired muscles as he took a drink from his water bottle.

David had finally done it. He was able to run ten minutes straight without collapsing. The pain in his calf made it feel like his leg was on fire and heavy as a cement block, but David had become used to it and was able to toughen it out.

During the Rescue, David was able to stop the zombies from eating the survivors by using himself as a distraction and trapping them in a enclosed park. But while escaping, he sliced open his leg on the fence. He found out from Sara later that he completely sliced through the tendon that attached his calf muscles to his shin bone. Sara repaired his leg as best as she could and closed his leg using a staple gun.

After nine months of therapy from Diane and Sara, his leg was well enough to support his weight on and walk. But as Sara had feared, the muscles in his calf had healed wrong. The tendon wasn't able to fully attach itself to the bone, resulting in his muscles being loose and unstable. Sara could have done a lot better job repairing the tendons if she was in the hospital, but with all the zombies around it was impossible.

That didn't stop David from keeping himself in top condition. With the right stretches and exercises, he built up his leg muscles enough to support his body without pain. Then kept in shape by running. It had been slow and painful at first, only lasting 30 seconds. Today, after months of running, he finally reached ten minutes.

All for the reason to get back in the field and away from the store.

Seriously, being stuck in the store for nine months nearly drove him crazy. He hadn't even been allowed to leave when the enclosure around the store had been built. Sara had been forceful about letting him stay inside, so he threatened to cry until she had given into his demands. Sara had finally agreed to his childish pout, but only if he could run for ten minutes straight. That amount of time could give anyone a chance to escape the Stiffs.

David got back up and began pacing, trying to cool down his legs. He grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat from his dark, brown hair. It hadn't gotten as long as Kevin's but still longer than he usually kept it. His 6'2" frame had finally reached its highest and was built with a good bit of muscle. He wasn't as big as Kevin or Jake, but still in better shape than he had been in his baseball years.

He took another drink as a voice rang out from behind him.

"Hey, David. Did you finally reach ten?" Kevin asked.

David nodded. "Now I can finally get out of here and see some action."

"Great. It's good to see our fearless leader up and about. Let's hope you haven't lost your touch," Kevin replied.

David smirked. For some odd reason, Kevin named David the leader of three when they first barricaded themselves in the store. He though it was a joke at first, but Kevin and Diane listened to everything David said. Then when the rescued Jake and the others, they looked up to him for leadership as well. David was terrified at first as he spent the time trying to convince everyone Jake would be a better leader than him. But even Jake agreed with everyone else that I was a good leader after watching me risk my life that led to my injury. He said it was one of the bravest rescues he had seen and had won his respect.

"So, you had something tell me?" Kevin asked.

"Yeah, but first, how many kills did you get today."

"12, and Jake said they had 14."

David did a little bit of math in his head. "With those numbers added with Charlie and Aaron's, we've eliminated a total of 150 zombies this month. Add that since Z-Day, the grand total comes to nearly 3,000."

"Those propane bombs really helped during those first few months."

"Yeah, but we're nearly out those now," David stated. "And we've got another problem as well."

"We're running out of ammo," Kevin stated.

David nodded. "We've got about 100 hundred bullets and shells left It doesn't help that the hunting stores had been cleaned out when all of this came down either. We've killed a lot of zombies, but I know our town has a population of nearly 7,000. It looks like many of the Stiffs had begun to search for a meal source outside of the city. And the same everywhere else."

"What do you mean?" Kevin asked.

"Aaron took this off of one of the Stiffs earlier today," David said throwing a dirty, green shirt to Kevin. He unrolled it and saw the shirt read 'Sheldon High School'.

"Sheldon? Isn't that..."

"It's Diane's hometown," David sighed. "Stiffs from other towns are coming here in search of something eat. And if they're coming here, it must mean that we are the only people alive within a 60-mile radius."

Kevin took a moment to digest this information. If things continued this way, they were going to be swarmed with zombies once again.

"So what do we do?" Kevin asked.

"Right now? Nothing. Tomorrow, I'm going to check the East side of town and see if there are any new messages at the police station. After that, I'll go to the Kings Avenue and see if anything new has come up at the House. We haven't been there since November."

The House. That was where David had found their only clue to what has happened to everyone. It was the old house of his ex-girlfriend and her parents, but he never told anyone that. When he showed Charlie and Jake on a map where it was, they had raided all of the files they had in hopes of discover more about this catastrophe. So far, they had not found anything new.

"Sounds like a plan. Anything else?"

"No."

"Well, then I'm going to get dinner started," Kevin grinned. "You guys are going to enjoy it."

David chuckled as Kevin walked towards the food court. David turned and went into the layaway section that led to the roof. He struggled on the ladder before he emerged into the bright sunlight that seemed to shine on rare occasions.

The sweet smell of flowers that covered the rooftop blocked out the smell of death that lingered over the city. The girls had talked the guys into growing a garden on the roof, just for the habit of having something to do. David agreed as long as they also grew some vegetables. Eating canned food was okay, but they needed the proper nutrients to keep their health up.

A flash of blond caught David's eye as Diane stood up from clipping a small, rose bush. A smile grew on his face as Diane spotted him and gave him a smile of her own. David's insides seemed to flutter, as they always did when she smiled at him. He walked towards to the center of the roof and sat down on a canopy swing they put up there. Diane put down her water can and went to join him.

David could have sworn he saw a glow surround Diane when she walked. In his eyes, she reminded him of an angel. Long blonde hair, tall but not taller than him and an athletic body that reminded him of a soccer player. But all of those things paled in compared to her eyes. Her eyes were a bright green, ones that shined like emeralds when she was happy. There were times when they would just gaze at each other, each getting lost.

Diane plopped down beside him and laid her head on his lap while staring at his face.

"Everybody get back okay?" she asked.

"Yep. Everyone's safe. Charlie had a close call when a Stiff bit his boot, but he's alright," David told her while he stroked her blonde locks.

"Wow, scary."

"I hope I don't have that encounter tomorrow," David said.

Diane sighed and closed her eyes. "Do you really want to do this? Going out there with your leg is dangerous. Anything could happen."

"I reached ten minutes today, just like we agreed. If there's a chance to go outside and do something, I'm going to take it."

"I'm just worried," Diane said as she sat up and sat beside him. "I've lost my mom and dad. You're all I got left. If I lost you...." She trailed off.

David touched her cheek and guided her in for a hug. She wrapped her arms around him, burying her head in his neck while she cried silently.

"Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere," David whispered.

Diane pulled back and gazed at his face. "Promise?"

"I promise."

She smiled and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "You're an idiot. But you're my idiot."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," David laughed.

* * *

Everybody sat at the tables in the main aisle near the registers in anticipation of the dinner surprise. They didn't know what it was, but everyone's mouths were watering at the delicious smell that had engulfed the store.

Diane and David sat on one end of the table. To their right sat Jake and Sara. On their right sat Charlie and Heather, David's classmates. Charlie, aka Burger Boy, was one the smartest students at Jefferson High and was studying to become a chemist. He was also the one who had been reviewing the papers that David had found at the House along with Heather and Sara. Heather, aka Blondie, was also a student and Charlie's girlfriend. Both of them were working at Burger King when Z-Day occurred and were trapped until Kevin rescued them.

On David's left sat Preston with Larry and Rebecca. Preston was a business accountant in town along with his wife. All of them had tried to get out of town when the attacks occurred, but ended up being stranded at the ice rink.

Beside them sat Brian and Brittany, aka the Groom and Bride. The newlyweds were returning from their honeymoon when they got stranded at the Burger King when the attacks started.

Three people, however, were not present. Christopher never liked to eat with people. He said table dinners made him claustrophobic. David just thought they gave him gas.

Aaron and Heidi, aka Nightmare and Firefly, stopped joining us when their friend Gloria died. All three of them were night school students who ended up camping out on the edge of the city when they heard the radio reports of the zombies. They took a risk and drove back into the city and ended up at the ice rink.

The couple didn't talk much anymore, but always stayed together.

Kelly, Kevin's girlfriend and Jake's cousin, sat across from David, eagerly waiting for whatever Kevin cooked. She was his biggest fan, especially if he made her favorites.

And finally, there was Champ, Diane's golden retriever. He protected her from the zombies when David and Kevin found her at a gas station. He seemed to be immune to whatever was transforming people in mindless corpses and was capable of defending himself against any attack.

_A rag-tag bunch of people, but I love them _David thought as he grabbed Diane's hand from underneath the table.

"Ta-da," Kevin yelled as he brought a steaming plate to the table. He held it over his head as to tease them with the surprise. Helen did the same thing with her plate.

"What have you got for us?" David asked.

"Everyone here should thank Helen and Preston for doing this," Kevin announced. "They're the reason we get to celebrate tonight."

"Stop with the suspense and serve us already," Billy said.

Kevin smiled and the two of them placed a plate of what looked like......STEAKS?!?!

There was a few moments of silence before Charlie whispered, "Where did you guys get this?"

Preston smiled. "During one of our searches, we found a farm that had dozens of cows out in the pasture, just grazing. Helen and I read up on how to process the meat and was able get the beef."

"Is it safe," Sara asked.

"None of the cows looked sick or infected, so I'm sure the meat is safe. Now let's-hey!"

Preston's cry was unnoticed because everyone leaned forward and snatched a piece of meat off the plates and began to furiously eat.

Kevin smiled and grabbed two pieces of meat, giving one to Champ underneath the table.

_And I though only zombies ate like_ _that_ Kevin thought.

* * *

Later that night, David was back in the manager's office. He was gazing at the computer screen and browsing through the websites that were still up and running. He sighed in resignation when he didn't find anything new.

Doesn't matter. There hasn't been anything new for months.

Diane came and grabbed David around his shoulders from behind.

"Nothing, huh?" she asked.

"No. Just the same as always. I'm amazed cyber space is still working after all this time."

"It is weird, isn't it," Diane said. Then she kissed his cheek. "Come on. Let's get some sleep."

David nodded and turned off the computer. Then followed Diane to their private part of the store. The layaway section where David spent months on a bed recovering from his wounds. Instead of the air mattresses the used to use, David asked Kevin and Jake to bring his bed from his old house.

Diane climbed in while David turned off the lights, then climbed in after her. She rolled over and pecked him on the mouth before laying her head on his chest.

"Good night, my hero," she whispered.

"Sweet dreams, my angel," he whispered back.


	3. Update

Sorry. This is not a new chapter. I'm thinking about discontinuing this part of the story and instead just add on more chapters to my first DTD story. I just believe that my sequel is not getting enough coverage.

So what do you think? Should I just add my first two chapters of Life after Death to my original story and turn it into one big story?


	4. Memories and Discoveries

I've decided, from popular vote, to continue this story the way it is. I'll try not to write too much about what you guys already know.

Ch. 3

* * *

"Alright, alright. I'll go with Christopher," David muttered. "Now quit complaining and get suited up."

"Thanks, dude. You're a pal," Kevin laughed as he ran to the locker rooms.

David sighed and got suited up himself. Unlike Kevin, David went for protection against bites. He had his share of close calls and did not want to take chances. He was wearing steel-toe work boots, a pair of thick, cargo paints, long-sleeved denim shirt, and leather gloves.

And of course, his lucky dragon hat.

He was strapping his Glock and Beretta to his hips when he felt a slender hand on his neck. He turned around and saw Diane with a worried expression on her face.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked.

David took a deep breath and took her hands in his.

"I'm sure. There is something I need to do that's been delayed for too long."

Diane held a box up for him. "Is that what these are for?"

"Yes. Thanks." David took the box from her and held out his hand. "It's time to leave. Walk me there?"

She smiled and grabbed his hand. They walked to front where everyone was waiting. Today, four teams were going out into the town: David and Christopher, Kevin and Kelly, Jake and Sara, and Aaron and Heidi. Every was suited up and gathering what ammo they could for the their trip.

David sighed at the sight of what ammo was left.

"Ready, guys?" I called out.

"All set," Kevin said as he sheathed his sword. Behind him, Kelly was loading a extra clip for her Beretta.

"Locked and loaded," Jake announced as he pumped shells into his shotgun. Sara bolted shells into her rifle.

"Ready," Aaron mumbled as he loaded bullets into his revolver. Heidi doing the same.

"Right. Here's your assigned areas," David announced. "Nightmare and Firefly, you guys are taking the north sector. I want to know if any more Stiffs are coming from Sheldon or any other cities."

"Got it," Heidi said.

"Veteran and Nurse, I want you to check the south. See if anyone or anything has entered our town from the Norton City. Also, see if anything is happening at the lake."

"Can do," Sara chirped.

"Samurai and Wildfire, the east sector is yours. I want you to check along the river banks to see if anything of interest has floated from upstream."

"Roger," Kelly said.

"What about you two?" Jake asked.

"Manager and I will cover the west and see if anything has been sent to the police station," David replied.

"Don't call me that," Christopher groaned.

"It's either that or Mama's Boy."

They got a laugh out of everybody.

"Very funny," Christopher muttered as he grabbed his shotgun and walked outside.

David chuckled for a few moments before turning serious.

"Listen up, we're going to do something different today. Due to the shortage of ammo, I want everyone to use their guns only as a last resort. Today is not a 'search and destroy' mission. Only recon. I want you guys to just count the number of Stiffs you see before we break back here for lunch. If you want to eliminate a couple of Stiffs, use bludgeon weapons only."

"No guns, huh? Good enough for me," Kevin smirked.

"So be careful everyone," David finished. "Any questions?"

Charlie raised his hand. "What do you want the rest of us to do?"

"You and Blondie are on guard duty today. I want you to alternate shifts with Preston and Helen."

"Got it," Heather chirped.

"And me?" Rebecca asked as she hopped forward.

David laughed and kneeled down to her level. "I want you to learn your multiplications today."

"But that's boring," Rebecca pouted.

"How about I make you a deal," David whispered. "If you can get through your 5 times table by dinner time, we'll make some ice cream for dessert tonight."

Rebecca's face lite up and she went dashing into the toy section. Helen tried to look disappointed, but had a smile on her face.

"You're going to spoil my kids, you know that?"

"It's in my rights as a big brother," David chuckled.

Helen shook her head and walked away. David turned back to everyone.

"Ok, let's roll out."

Everybody grabbed their weapons and headed outside to their cars. Jake liked to drive a 2006 Chevy 350 truck that he had fitted with a battering ram in the front grill and a steel-framed cage in the back.. Aaron 'borrowed' a 2007 Mustang GTO from an abandoned dealership that had the back window taken out and reinforced with steel bars so Heidi could shoot zombies as they drove away. Kevin drove a 2005 Jeep Cherokee and didn't bother with any protection from zombies.

David had not been able to drive for nearly nine months so he was anxious to get back on the road. He asked Kevin to pick him up a car when he was finally able to walk and sure enough, it was there in the parking lot. A Cheverolot Chevelle SS that Kevin found in a custom car shop.

Charlie went to go unlock the gate while everyone else started their separate vehicle up. Christopher was already inside the Chevelle. Jake and Aaron were already pulling away. Kevin stayed behind with David while Kelly loaded her weapons into the Jeep.

"Are you ready for this?" Kevin asked David.

"I haven't been ready since Z-Day. But anything is better than sitting inside and growing old."

"Good luck with that, Grandpa," Kevin joked.

David laughed and held out his hand. "Don't poke yourself in the eye, Samurai."

"Don't shoot yourself in the foot, Dragon," Kevin said as he shook hands. Then got into his Jeep.

David was about to get into his car when Diane stopped him.

"Be careful out there," she whispered, then kissed him.

"I'll be okay," David whispered back. Then turned to Champ who followed them out. "Hold down the fort for me while I'm away."

Champ barked in reply and ran back inside. Diane chuckled and followed him inisde.

David climbed into the car, put the box into the back seat and started the engine. The Chevelle was in mint condition and seemed to purr as the engine idled.

"You left the dog in charge?" Christopher asked.

"Champ has the qualities that make a good leader," David replied.

"Such as..?"

"He can get people organized. For example, he knows how to get people out of bed."

"But all he does is drool in their faces."

"Exactly. We can't do that."

Christopher groaned and leaned back in the seat. "Why do I bother?" he murmured.

"Because we're the life of the party!" David yelled as he put the car in reverse and punched the gas. The car sped backwards towards the gate when David flipped the wheel and did a 180 through the exit, waving to Charlie as he sped by.

"You're crazy!" Christopher yelled.

David just laughed as he sped west.

* * *

"_Freedom, baby! Freeeeddoooom!"_ David yelled over the radio

Kelly laughed. "David sounds like he's having fun, doesn't he?"

"He was getting cabin fever," Kevin said. "Can't blame him for getting a little excited."

"Hope he doesn't wreck."

The couple were traveling down King's Ave, heading towards the bridge. They had set up a net that would catch anything that floated upstream. Hopefully, they would catch some fish for their dinner or some sign that something had happened upstream

Sadly, all they've caught were zombies. It seems they can survive underwater without drowning. But the good news was that zombies can't swim. They sink right to the bottom.

"There's the bridge," Kelly announced as it came into view.

"And we've got company," Kevin sighed.

Three Stiffs were staggering on the bridge. One was a teenage girl with graying skin and several ribs showing her black intestines. Another was an elder man with balding hair. And skin. The last one was too decomposed to tell what gender it was.

Kevin reached into the backseat to grab his sword, but Kelly grabbed his arm.

"Let me take care of this," Kelly requested.

Kevin raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

"Sure. It'll be a piece of cake," she smirked as she climbed out of the Jeep.

The Stiffs saw her get out of the car and began to hobble to her.

"Wait. David said not to use any bullets," Kevin called after her.

Kelly didn't answer and kept walking to the Stiffs with a confident smile. Then, two large, hunting knives just appeared in her hands.

_Now just where was she hiding those?_ Kevin thought.

The first Stiff, the old man, staggered forward with his arms stretched in a classic zombie walk. Kelly side-kicked it in the stomach, causing it to back up a couple of steps and confusing it. Kelly used this opportunity to stab the Stiff right in the nuts. The stab caused what muscles that still worked to make the body bend at the waist.

Kevin winced and crossed his legs on instinct. He was sure the zombie didn't feel the pain, but the way it bent over and groaned, it looked like it was.

With the zombie hunched over, Kelly spun around and stabbed her other knife into the base of the Stiff's skull. The zombie gave a final moan, then fell forward. Deader than dead.

The girl came next, limping forward on a bad leg. She grabbed Kelly from behind and lunged her mouth forward. Kelly grabbed the girl's arm, twisted it into an arm bar, and then kicked the girl in the back of the knee. The reflex caused the zombie to fall forward on her face. Kelly then raised her leg and delivered an axe kick to the back of the Stiff's, crushing the face into the concrete road and caving in the back of the skull.

The last Stiff hurried behind Kelly. It was hoping it would get her while she had her back turned. But Kelly just spun the knife in her hand and caught the blade, spun around, and chucked her knife to the zombie. The blade impaled itself into the zombie's forehead and sunk into the brain. It finally stopped when it reached the hilt. The Stiff stayed standing for a moment before falling backwards.

_Damn_ Kevin thought.

Kelly turned to Kevin and smiled.

"How was that"? she asked.

Kevin was speechless. He pretty much just saw a blur when she moved. With the way her red hair moved, she was just like her codename: Wildfire. Only one thought came to his mind.

_Sexy and Deadly._

* * *

"Would you slow down?!" Christopher yelled as he held onto his seat. "You're going to crash into something!"

David giggled as he floored the gas and zoomed down the street. He dodged abandoned cars and the occasional Stiff. He had not been this happy in months. The freedom was overwhelming.

"There's the station! You'regoingtopassit! STOP!!!"

David finally snapped out of his high of fresh air and stepped on his brakes. The car screeched to a stop in front of a police station. He accidently slammed into a Stiff, sending it flying across the street.

"Oops," David said.

"You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Christopher asked.

"No, seriously. I didn't see him there."

"Whatever. Just boot up the generator."

Just like our store, the police station had a generator in case of a power outage. They would check out and see if any messages, phone calls, or e-mails had been sent. It was most likely a hopeless cause, but it was better than doing nothing.

Hey, you never know.

"Okay. I'll start it up. I'll meet you inside in a few minutes," David said as Christopher walked inside the building. "Don't get eaten by any Lickers."

Christopher turned around and gave me a look that said I was stupid. "What?"

"You know, Lickers. Police Station. Resident Evil 2. Ringing any bells?"

"I don't fry my brain cells by playing video games like every other American teen. I actually have goals in life besides gaming."

David just shook his head while Christopher went inside. "Whatever." _I see now why nobody likes this guy._

The generator was in an alley between the station and a accountant's office. It was surrounded by a 7-foot tall chain linked fence that had a small gate with a broken lock. Charlie was the one who told David how to start it from their previous meetings and coached him on how to start it. Luckily, it was pretty similar to the one in Wal-Mart. (I know, I'm a cruel author for not giving details on how they work)

David checked the see if the tank was fuel, then started the generator. A slow hum was all he heard at first before it picked up and sounded nearly deafening. David smiled and was walking back into the street when his radio beeped.

"_David, the computers are up and the CB radio is on."_

"Good. Could you check to see if there are any messages on the computer?"

"_Why?"_

"I need to do something real quick. A personal matter."

He could almost see Christopher rolling his eyes. _"Whatever."_

David groaned and put the radio back into his pocket. He then walked to his car and pulled the box Diane had given him through the window.

"I can do this," he muttered.

He then began to walk down the street. His destination was only a few blocks away. It didn't make him nervous to walk down the street in a city infested with zombies. In fact, there were no zombies in sight. What made him nervous was the place he was visiting.

After five minutes of walking, he arrived at Williams Street. In front of him was a pawn shop with a sign that read 'Trash or Treasure'. It was here that David found a cache of hand guns that saved him, Kevin and Diane. It was here that here that he found Kevin's sword.

And it was here that he made his first zombie kill. The victims: his mother, father, and little sister.

It seemed like a sick joke that his first kills would be his family. Just as he was escaping the store, he discovered that his family had just killed his friend and co-worker, Jessica, in an alley between the pawn shop and a shoe store. Then the came after him. David, realizing he had to fight back, used the sword he found to kill his family.

David felt his breath catch in his throat when he noticed the bodies were no longer in the street.

_Did they decompose? Did someone clean-up this part of town? Did they get eaten?_

David just shook his head and put the box down on the ground. He needed to finish quickly and get back to the police station. He lifted the lid and gazed at what laid inside.

Four, fresh roses. Diane just clipped them this morning from her garden. She didn't ask what they were for, but David could tell she was dying to know. He never told anybody what happened that night and he planned to keep it that way.

He gathered the roses and walked into the alleyway to where Jessica died. He laid a rose at the entrance. Then walked back into the street to where he had last seen his family's bodies.

"Hey, it's me," David whispered. "I know you're not there, but it's comforting to know you three are at peace now. When I pass into the other side, I hope you can forgive me for what I had done."

He placed one rose down. "Mom...." Then the second one. "Dad...." And then the final one. "Natalie..."

David stood back up and wiped a tear from his eye. He knew it was going to be hard, but this was too much. Every single day, he wondered he made the right decision.

_They were dead. Nothing you could have done would have brought them back _

"_David..." _Christopher's voice came over the radio.

David sniffed and pulled the radio out of his pocket. "What?"

"_You might want to come over and check this out."_

* * *

Kevin pushed the net back into the water and hooked the loops to the bridge. "Well, nothing was biting today, but we can always hope for tomorrow."

"There's always tomorrow," Kelly agreed.

With the net set, Kevin leaned back and felt a few bones pop into place. Then turned to Kelly. "So what do we do now? We're done for the morning and we've got an hour before lunch."

Kelly had this mischievous smirk on her face as she walked forward. "I can think of a few things."

Kevin began to giggle and turn red in the face. "Oh, really. And what kind of things do you have in mind?"

"Remember that special night we had last week?" She purred into his ear. This cause Kevin's face to turn from red to maroon.

"Yeah...."

"Well, how about we-"

"_Everyone check in now," _David's voice cracked over the radio.

Kevin and Kelly both groaned and looked at each other.

"Do you think if we ignore him, he won't notice," Kevin asked.

"_This is Veteran," _came Jake's voice.

"We can try," Kelly muttered as she began nibble on his neck.

"_Nightmare here."_

"To hell with it," Kevin growled and captured her lips with his. Her hands were on his chest while his were on her lower back, slowly working their way down.

There was a few seconds of silence when the radio cracked back on. _"Samurai? Are you there?"_

"_Yo, pick up your radio!" _Jake yelled.

The couple groaned and separated. Kevin picked up his walkie. "What?!" he yelled harshly.

The a moment of silence before Aaron broke it.. _"Did Dragon interrupt something?"_

Kelly grabbed the radio. "Yes, the asshole did."

"_Ho ho, was a certain team about to get a little frisky while on the job?" _came Sara's amused voice.

"Yes," both Kevin and Kelly answered.

"_You two can fuck later. Right now we've got a situation." _David said.

Everyone turned serious. "What's going on?" Kevin asked. Something big was about to happen.

"_Christopher said he picked a radio signal on a AM station. Everyone meet now at the Lincoln Hights Apartment Complex on the west side of town."_

I hope you guys enjoyed the new chapter.

* * *


	5. Price of Death

All references to Resident Evil belong to Capcom and Dawn of the Dead belongs to George A. Romero. All other characters and creations are my property and must confirm with me to use in other stories.

* * *

Ch. 4

"I swear Christopher, if you are wrong about this, everyone is going to string you up by your thumbs and let Stiffs chew on your balls," David said as he picked up his antenna.

"I know what I heard. A man on the radio said there was a safe town with impenetrable walls and fresh water," Christopher said has he unloaded his antenna out of the car. "Why would I lie about something like that."

The two were currently on the edge of town, surrounded by several apartment complexes. David was on the third floor of the north building, aiming his receiver out into the mountains and adjusting his radio dial. Kevin was preparing to go to the south building so they could triangulate the radio signal.

"Okay, I'm going," Christopher called out.

"Watch your back," David yelled down.

Christopher waved his hand, saying he understood. David flipped the switch to 'on' and got static from the radio speakers. He had no idea if this was going to work. He once saw it on an episode of 'McGuyver' and Jake explained the 'how-to', but they had to wait until he was here. All David could do now is set it up.

David grabbed his walkie. "Veteran, what's your location?"

"_I'm about 3 miles away."_

"Good. We need your help in order to find out where the signal is coming from."

"_If there is a signal,"_ Kevin's voice rang out.

"What's your location, Samurai?"

"_We're a little bit further away."_

"Okay. Just get here as soon as you can."

"_Roger. Over and out."_

David set the walkie down and took a deep breath. He hope this would work. If they found a city that was safe, he wouldn't be in charge anymore and can give his command to another. Maybe there would be a military personnel with more experience than him would take up his responsibility. The stress of keeping everyone safe was excruciating and was making him depressed.

He picked his walkie back up. "Christopher, are you in position?"

There was a moment of silence. Then another. And another.

"Christopher?"

Again, there was no answer. David was about to try again when a scream of pain echoed through the complex.

"Christopher! What's wrong?" David yelled into the walkie.

"Help me!!" Christopher yelled out, but not through the walkie.

David spotted Christopher run around the South building, clutching a severely bleeding arm. A look of terror was on his face as he ran back to the car. Then David heard a sound that haunted his nightmares. One that he had not heard for nearly a year.

The howls of Runners.

* * *

"Almost there," Kevin said. He was dodging abandoned cars and bodies, but still a mile away from the complex.

Then, Kelly's radio clicked.

"_Ru..rs-......lp right no..."_

"What?" Kelly asked.

"I don't know," Kevin said. He picked his radio. "Dragon, come back? What did you say?"

"_....Runners!! There are Runners here and...shit, Chris, watch out!_" Then the radio went silent. Over the sound of the car engine, Kevin and Kelly heard the faint echoes of gunshots.

"Oh, fuck," Kevin cursed and floored the gas.

* * *

David barely registered the kick in his Beretta as he rapidly fired at the Runners. There were at least 5 chasing Christopher, all of them barely had any damage on their bodies and seemed to be freshly bitten. There wasn't even any dried blood on their clothes.

The empty Beretta ejected its clip and David cursed as he fumbled for a new one. He managed to slow down one, but the rest were still on Christopher's heel.

David loaded another clip and ran back down the balcony to the ground floor, firing every chance he got. But Christopher, blind in pain, tripped over a parking curb before he could make it to the north building's stairs. The second he tripped, the Runners were on him.

"No!!" David yelled as he fired at the zombies. The bullets impacted on their backs but didn't nothing to slow them down.

Christopher's screams echoed in David's brain. Soon, they became quieter and more gurgled as blood filled his mouth. By the time David reached the ground floor, the screams had stopped.

David's stomach churned as he gazed at he scene. Three of the Runners were pulling out Christopher's intestines and furiously shoving them into their mouths. Another was chewing on a severed leg, drinking the blood that leaked out. The last one was digging into the neck, peeling away the flesh with its teeth.

"Oh, God," David retched. He turned away and threw up.

The Runners caught attention of the noise and sprang up from the ground. Blood was dripping from their hands and mouths. David caught his breath and ran into the parking lot. His leg slowed him down and the Runners were right at his heels.

David turned around and began firing. His first shot luckily caught one of the them in the forehead. The body stumbled and caught one of its brothers, tripping it. David then fired three shots at the fallen zombie. Two shots went into its shoulder while the third caught it in the top of the head.

_Three more..._

David turned and ran, firing over his shoulder as he made his way to the car. One bullet hit a Runner in the knee, slowing its pursuit to a walk. The other two ran past it, not bothering to slow down.

One more bullet caught the fourth in the side of the head, causing it to fall to the ground and twitch horribly. Not quite dead, but with a destroyed piece of brain that limited its motor functions. But that bullet marked David's last one as the empty clip ejected from the handle.

David grabbed his last clip and loaded into the handle when the last zombie slammed into him, knocking them both to the pavement. He used the momentum to roll on his back and kick the zombie over his head. The gun was knocked from his hands and slid under the car.

But David sprung back to his feet and saw the zombie staggering to its hands and knees. David sprinted forward, pushing all his strength into his legs. He swung his leg into the zombie's head like it was a soccer ball. His foot connected with the creature's temple, crushing it. The blow instantly sent fire in his leg, making his old injury feel like it was pierced by knives. He tried to ignore it.

The last zombie came staggering forward, finally catching up after David shot it. Its roars and howls ringing in his ears.

Not wanting to risk grabbing his gun, David pulled the crowbar from his belt.

"Your turn," David growled and ran to the zombie.

The Runner greeted David's charge with his own. But David side-stepped him and swung the crowbar at its head. The satisfying clang rung around the zombie's cranium and causing blood to leak out of a small dent above its ear. The zombie staggered from the blow.

David turned the bar and swung once more at its head. The claw sunk into the back of the head. The zombie immediately ceased its movements and fell to the ground. David pulled the crowbar out of the dead creatures cranium with some difficulty.

A loud growl caught David's attention. He turned and saw the other zombie still twitching from its shot to the head. David roared and ran the zombie, determined to end its existence.

He swung the crowbar down and caved in the Runner's head. The zombie was now dead, but David didn't stop. He swung again and again. Blood and brains splattered onto the pavement with each swing.

David didn't even stop when a screech of tires announced his friend's arrival.

* * *

Kevin slammed on the brakes as David's Chevelle came into view. When the jeep came to a stop, he and Kelly jumped out and had their weapons at the ready. They both heard rhythmic grunts and growls and spotted three zombies around the parking lot.

"Where's David and Christopher?" Kelly whispered.

"I don't know. Keep close and follow me," Kevin ordered.

The two walked around the apartment complex, keeping close to the wall and followed the sound of the grunts. When they peeked around the corner, they spotted David swinging his crowbar at something on the ground.

"Oh, good God," Kelly retched when she recognized what it was. David had completely obliterated a zombie's head. The body was still intact but the head was now a pile of mush and blood. David's own body was covered with splattered with the zombie's bood.

"David! Calm down!" Kevin yelled as he sheathed his sword and ran towards David. He grabbed his hands to stop him from swinging the crowbar. David jerked at the contact, but snapped out of his daze when he recognized who it was.

"Kevin. Kevin....they killed....." David muttered.

"Where's Christopher?" Kevin asked.

David didn't say anything. Just pointed in the direction of the North Building's entrance, then collapsed on the ground. Kelly hurried forward and began to check for injuries.

Kevin walked to the spot where David pointed, his sword at the ready. On the ground, barely recognizable, was Christopher. His organs were torn from his body. The throat was ripped out and one leg was missing. Kevin slowly lifted his sword and cleanly cut the head off.

He knew it was wrong, but they couldn't risk Christopher's body being regenerated. It was right thing to do, yet Kevin still felt sick to his stomach for doing it.

The sounds of two cars announced the arrival of Jake and Aaron's cars. They immediately got out and checked the other bodies to make sure they were dead. Then walked to David and Kelly.

"What happened?" Sara asked. Kevin just shrugged his shoulders.

"David, are you going to be ok?" Kelly asked. She shook his shoulders, but he didn't respond. He kept staring at the zombie he just killed.

Kevin knelt down and looked David in the eyes. He snapped his fingers in front of David's face. He blinked, then focused on Kevin.

"David, what happened?" Kevin asked.

David sighed and stared at his feet. "I was up in the balcony in the north building, waiting for Christopher to get into the south building so we could triangulate the signal we heard on the radio. He was attacked by 5 Runners. I tried to stop them and get him inside the building, but they caught up to him before I could save him."

"Runners? Are you serious?" Heidi asked.

"He's right," Jake said. "The three bodies we looked showed no signs of decomposition and had fresh bite marks on their arms. Judging by the maggots on their arms, it seems they were bitten two days ago."

"Sick. But where did they come from?" Kelly asked.

"Here," Aaron said. He went to one of the zombies and picked through their pockets. "This guy still kept his wallet on him. Name: Jonathon Hammer. Address: 552 Adams St. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania."

"He came all the way from Pittsburgh? How did he get here?" Sara said.

"Probably for that radio transmission," David muttered. "Christopher said he heard a guy calling out for survivors. That there was a safe haven."

"Where?"

"I don't know. We were about to find out." David groaned and climbed to his feet. "Let's see if it's true."

Jack put a hand on his shoulder. "We'll take care of that. You go back to the store. You've been through a lot today. More than any us have since this thing has started."

"But-" David started.

"No buts," Kevin interrupted. "Jack's right. Neither of us expected Runners to be here and you did all you could to save Christopher."

David wanted to protest, but his battle had left him exhausted. Also, his bad leg felt very sore from the kick to the zombie's head. He knew he was outvoted so he just nodded his head and went to his Chevelle.

"Kelly, you should probably go with him," Kevin suggested. Kelly nodded and followed David to his car, taking his arm so he wouldn't fall because of his leg. They both got into the car and drove back to the store.

Kevin turned to Jake. "Do you think he's going to be ok?"

"I don't know," Jake admitted. "He's gone through more crap alone than all of us have combined. Something like this maybe the final straw for him."

"Do you blame him for what happened to Christopher?"

Jake shook his head. "No, I don't"

"Well I do," Aaron stated. "He let Christopher go off by himself with no kind of back-up whatsoever. I think he let those zombies catch him. Let's face it, David didn't like him."

"I agree," Heidi added.

"How could you two say that?" Sara demanded. "Look, maybe Christopher was not the most sincere and popular guy here, but David wouldn't allow any of us to die. No of us would allow that."

"We swore that we would watch others backs," Kevin stated. "And David it the most noblest guy I know. He would give his life to save us."

"He's done it before," Jake finished, all of them remembering the David got injured.

Aaron and Heidi just scoffed and got back in their car. They squealed out of the parking lot and drove down the street.

"What's their problem?" Sara asked.

"I don't know," Kevin admitted. "But we can't worry about them now. If there are Runners in town, that means there are people still alive outside of the city. We should do everything we can to either find them or find a way to communicate with them."

Jake nodded. "Let's continue what David left off."

* * *

Diane was waiting nervously at the front desks in Wal-Mart. She heard David yelling on his radio, but couldn't make out what he was saying. She then got a call from Kelly that she and David were returning to the store.

Did something happen? Is everyone ok?

All of her thoughts of injuries to her boyfriend and friends made Helen and the kids nervous as well. The group was waiting for a sign from Preston of when they were arriving.

"I'm sure everyone's just fine," Helen said as Diane began to pace back and forth.

"What happened, Mom?" Rebecca asked. The tension from her mother and Diane was making the kids anxious.

"I am not sure, honey," Helen said. "Why don't you kids go put in a movie?"

"Really?" Rebecca gasped.

"Go on."

Rebecca grabbed her brother's hand and began to drag him to the back. He, however shot his mom a look that said he knew what was going on.

"Something's wrong. I just know it," Diane muttered.

Helen didn't say anything. She knew nothing would calm Diane until she saw David safe with her own eyes.

"They're coming in now" Preston's voice said over the walkie.

Diane stopped pacing and listened as the David's Chevelle came to a stop in the parking lot. She dashed out the front doors to see David climbing out of his car. A gasp escaped her when she saw him covered in blood.

David looked up and saw Diane with her hands over her mouth with a look of horror on her face. He gave a small smile to let her know he was ok. That was all the assurance she needed and hurried to hug him.

"Stop," he said before she got to close. "Let me go get cleaned up first. I don't want any blood getting on you. It may get into your system by accident."

Diane nodded and let him step by. He walked past her and Helen, heading to the showers. Diane turned to Kelly.

"What happened?"

Kelly took a deep breath. "Christopher was killed by 5 newly discovered Runners. David did all he could to stop them, but they got him in the end."

Diane, Helen and Preston all gasped at the news. Diane hurried back into the store to find her boyfriend. They watched her go then turned back to each other.

"David thinks that it was his fault that Christopher died," Kelly added.

"Why would he think that," Preston asked.

"The two were trying to find a signal that Christopher heard on an AM radio station. He believes that he should have followed Christopher and gave him back-up."

Helen turned back to the store. "The poor boy..."

* * *

Diane heard the shower turn off as she waited outside the men's locker room. She was forever grateful that this Wal-Mart installed showers at the employee's request. However, due the power being shut off and the plumbing being clogged, they had connect pipes to the river so that the water tank could be filled up. They couldn't drink the water, but they could always have lukewarm showers.

David walked out of the locker room in a pair of sweats and a work-shirt. The second he stepped out, Diane wrapped him in a tight hug.

"Are you ok?" she asked into his chest.

David sighed and returned her hug. "I don't know. I keep hearing Christopher's cries for help and the howl of Runners. There was so much more I could have done for him. If only I-"

"Quit blaming yourself," Diane snapped. "We all knew the risks when we go out into the town. I know you did everything possible to help Christopher. But these things just happen."

David let go. "But Runners, Diane. We haven't seen Runners for months."

"Nobody did. It was one of the times in fate where we can't control the outcomes."

Diane reached out and pulled him into another embrace. The top of her head was under his chin as she buried her face into his neck. "Everything will be ok," she whispered.

"I hope so," he whispered back.

* * *

Kevin and the others didn't arrive back until around three. They checked the area but didn't find anymore Runners. They were able to find the signal that Christopher was talking about. After hours of searching, they were able to triangulate the AM station and record their findings onto a tape recorder.

_"There is a safe haven. The Army has set up a secure city in the eastern part of the United States. The city has been fortified with a ten-foot high concrete wall and sniper towers. We have electricity, fresh food and running water. The location is 39 Degrees 17 North, 76 Degrees 37 West."_

_"Please, if there is anyone alive, come to Baltimore, Maryland."_

Sorry for the delay. A lot of crap has been going on. Hope you guys enjoyed it.

* * *


	6. Decisions

1Ch. 4

"Of all the cities in the country for the army to take control of, why Baltimore?" Preston asked later that night.

"The antennas we used had a very limited range to pick up signals," Jake explained. "They're could be other cities fortified to stand up against zombies. We just picked up a signal from one that was broadcasting a radio message."

"I've got to say, Baltimore is the last city I would expect to make a stand," Kevin admitted while rubbing his eyes.

He, Jake, Preston, Sara and Aaron gathered around the table after dinner to discuss the current situation. Everyone else was either reading or watching a movie, trying to cope with the loss of Christopher. His death had hit them all pretty hard, but hit the David the hardest. He hadn't shown up to dinner and would listen to Kevin or Diana's encouragement to join them. David just declined and asked to be left alone.

Kevin was worried about him. He hadn't seen David this depressed since they lost Gloria. But now it was worse. David blamed himself for Christopher's death and wouldn't listen to everyone's reassurance that there was nothing that he could have done to stop the Runners.

Jake and Kevin inspected the site after they recorded the radio signal. They found a dozen shell casings on one of the ledges and several more on the ground underneath it. They also found several gunshot wounds on the backs of a few of the Runners and a few bullet impacts scattered in street that followed a trail of blood leading to Christopher's body.. That was proof that David fired several shots to stop the Runners, but by the looks of it, Christopher was already dead when the Runners bit him, hence the trail of blood.

They explained situation to everyone and they all accepted it, except Aaron and Heidi. They believed that David left Christopher to his death because he didn't like him and thought it would be easier to leave Christopher to zombies and make it look like an accident instead of just shooting him.

Kevin and everyone else knew that was bullshit, but they didn't bother trying to argue with them. Everyone knew the couple hated David with a passion, ever since the day Gloria died. They blamed him for her death, despite the fact she volunteered to go outside the building.

Kevin sighed and turned back to conversation.

"Regardless of whether it's Baltimore or Los Angeles, the point is what are we going to do?" Sara asked.

"I think we should go. Anything is better than staying here," Aaron said immediately.

Jake groaned. "Baltimore is nearly three hundred miles away. It would be a short trip, sure, but the highways leading to there could be jammed with abandoned cars, debris, roadblocks, Runners and Stiffs. Not mention there could be other survivors out there hell bent on shooting anything that moves and looting provisions."

"I agree," Preston added. "It's dangerous enough here, but we have a fortified store with all the equipment we need. We know this city: every street, store, house, and road. That is the only advantage we have to surviving."

"We are running out of those provisions!" Aaron exclaimed, slamming his fist into the table. "In the past year, we have eaten nearly half of the canned foods in this godforsaken hideout and there's no guarantee the vegetation we're growing on the roof is going to last. Not to mention, we're almost out of ammunition for our guns!"

Silence fell over the table. Aaron did have a point. They were eating through their rations a lot quicker than usual, especially with winter only a few months away. At first, they equally distributed their meals during the first few months but now everyone ate when the felt like it. Also, with less than a hundred shells and bullets left for their firearms, they would soon have to resort to clubs and other bludgeon-type weapons to fight off zombies. A feat nearly everyone was afraid of.

Nobody said anything for a few moments. Then Sara spoke up.

"You know....it would be nice to let someone else do the fighting. The message said the army was guarding the civilians in the city. Only one of us is a trained soldier," she said while gazing at Jake. "The rest of us are..were...normal citizens made into warriors overnight."

Preston nodded after a moment. "Maybe you're right. We've been defending ourselves when we're not properly trained to do so. How long will it be before one of us falls because we can't fight?"

Kevin could see the logic in their speeches. It would be nice to feel safe once more and not have to worry about Stiffs somehow finding away to break into the store or going out into the field without jumping at every sound. But somehow, something about this 'safe haven' was giving Kevin a chill. Why? He didn't know, but he always trusted his instincts.

Jake put his hands together on the table and voiced my thoughts. "You do know what you guys are asking? You're talking about packing everyone up, traveling three hundred miles through God-knows what, with a limited supply of weapons, to a city that we have no guarantee is safe except a message that we heard on the radio that's been playing on a loop for how long?"

Aaron, Preston and Sara nodded. Jake sighed and ran his hand through his hair. Kevin knew he was strategically trying to find a way to guarantee everyone's safety on this trip. As a soldier, it was a natural instinct as a leader to lead his companions to victory. It was one of the traits Kevin saw in both Jake and David and what made them the leaders.

After a few silent minutes, Jake finally nodded. "Alright. We'll talk to everyone else about taking the trip. If the vote is unanimous, we go."

Aaron smirked at his victory and immediately got up to go talk to the others.

_He probably believed this was a wing against David_, Kevin thought.

Preston just nodded and got up to tell his wife and kids. He seemed a little disappointed, but hid it well enough. Sara kissed Jake on the cheek and went up to join Aaron and Preston in telling everyone. Jake just sighed and looked with regret at Kevin.

"I feel like we're betraying David by doing this. He's the one that decides what's best for us and hasn't steered us wrong yet. Tell me, did I do the right thing?"

Kevin nodded. "David would trust your opinion just as much as everyone else would. He told me several times that he admires the way you watch out for everyone and considers you a role model."

Jake looked surprise. "That can't be right. When we first met, we didn't exactly get along at first."

"Yeah, David told me about that," Kevin chuckled. The first time those two met, Jake had a gun pointed at the back of David's head, ready to blow his brains out. David disabled him and turned the tables on Jake in an instant. After that, the two had a tremendous amount of respect for one another.

"That's hard to believe. Anyway, I noticed that you didn't vote in favor of going. What's up?"

Kevin sighed. "I don't know. Something about this doesn't feel right. You think if the army had stationed a city safe that they would expand their protection to other cities instead of asking everyone to come there."

"That's what I thought," Jake agreed. "It doesn't make sense."

"Well, there's nothing we can do know except prepare for a road trip. I only wished we had better weaponry."

"Yeah. It's a shame the National Guard cleared their outpost of all automatic weapons."

Kevin nodded. A few months after the Rescue, Jake and Kevin checked buildings where the NG was stationed in case of an emergency. The station was completely deserted. No signs of bodies, bullet casings, heavy artillery or blood.

"Well, one of should go talk to David. Where is he anyway?"

David was currently watching the sunset. Not on the Wal-Mart's roof, but at his old home. The place was cleared of Stiffs. He couldn't even spot them within a three-block radius.

It was the first time he had been there since Z-Day, where he witnessed his mother's transformation from human into a Runner. A nightmare that still haunted him.

The place still looked the same. It was a simple two-story house painted sky-blue. It had a two-door garage, a flower bed on the side and a giant Weeping Willow in the front yard.

Watching the sunset was something he always did whenever he was depressed. His bedroom window gave him easy access to the roof and he would spend hours up there, waiting for his mom to tell him to come.

David liked to believe that watching the sunset would end whatever depressed feelings he had and tomorrow would bring a new day with new surprises. However, he knew a sunset wouldn't be enough now.

Christopher was dead and it was all his fault. Dozens of possibilities were running through his head about how he could have saved him If he would only have tried harder to aim the Runners, if only he went with Christopher to back him up, if they only secured the location first....

"Why is it everything I do to make things safe end blowing up in my face?" David asked his companion. Maddie just meowed.

Maddie was David's 6-year-old, Maine Coon cat. When Z-Day occurred, Maddie ran for the hills when David's sister and mother tried break down his bedroom door to get him. It was several days later, when David was searching for survivor's, that David found him. Maddie was wary of him, like he didn't know whether or not to trust his owner. But it was because of Maddie that David found Jake and everyone else at the skating rink.

Maddie was still keeping his distance away from his master, but was still there to be in his company nevertheless.

"Nice to see you're still alive by the way," David said. "What exactly have you been eating? Never mind, I don't want to know."

Maddie just meowed/growled like he didn't want to answer. David just chuckled.

"Nice to see your as friendly as ever."

They stayed silent for a few minutes, just trying to enjoy the warmth of the fading sun. It wasn't until David heard the soft drone of an engine did he turn his gaze away. He spotted a jeep driving down the street, heading in his direction. Maddie spotted them as well and took off, leaping into a tree in the backyard whose branches just barely touched the roof. David watched him go, then gazed back west.

Kevin, Diane and Champ got out of the jeep and walked into the house. They climbed out the bedroom window and joined him, Kevin sitting on his left, Diane on his right. Champ carefully climbed out of the window and padded over to rest on David's feet.

"Even after all this time, the view is still amazing," Kevin sighed.

Diane nodded. From the roof, it gave them a good view across the suburban neighborhood. It was a whole lot better than the house she used to live in with her Dad and Champ.

"You two use to come up here a lot," Diane asked.

"I use to just sit here and watch the dusk turn to night every evening," David said while petting Champ's head. "It's like watching the world end only to be reborn again in twelve hours."

"Yeah, rebirth is a wonderful thing. Like starting over," Kevin said.

"Like how everyone wants to start over in another city?" David asked.

Diane and Kevin glimpsed at each other before Kevin said, "How did you...?"

David rolled his eyes. "Come on, what else would you guys be talking about while I was gone? You came to tell me everyone voted to move to Baltimore, right?"

Diane placed her hand on David's arm. "We weren't going to decide anything until we heard your opinion. If you want to stay, we'll all stay."

"But everyone wants to go."

It was a moment before Kevin spoke. "Yeah. The vote was unanimous. But that doesn't matter. If you want the three of us to stay, regardless of everyone else leaving, we will stay with you."

"What about Kelly?" David turned to Kevin. "I thought you two loved each other."

"I don't know what she really wants. But you're my brother and I will stay with you no matter what."

Diane wrapped her arms around David's waist. "And I will stay by your side with whatever decision you make. Even if we go through the Gates of Hell, I'll be there to hold your hand."

David smiled for the first time since Christopher's death. He wrapped his arm around Diane's shoulders and kissed the top of her head. "Thanks, you two." He turned to Champ. "What about you? Are you with me?"

Champ raised his head and licked David right in the face. Diane and Kevin both laughed as David wiped the dog drool off with his free hand. "I guess that answers your question," Diane choked.

"Well, I think it's settled," David said. "I'm not about to deny anybody's wishes if they all want to go." He turned to his friends. "I guess we're going."


	7. New Leader

Ch. 6

"Field trip!" Rebecca yelled as she ran back to tell her parents and brother the news. David raised an eyebrow at Kevin, who shrugged.

"Well, I had to tell her something," Kevin reasoned waving his arms at his sides. "We can't exactly tell the kids we're going to travel through zombie infested lands to another city."

"Where did you tell her we were going?"

"The zoo," Kevin said simply.

"Baltimore has a zoo?" Diane asked.

"I hope so," Jake walked up. "I haven't been to one since I was a kid." He was followed by Charlie, Sara, Kelly, and Brittany.

David groaned, then turned to Jake. "Are you sure this is what everybody wants to do?"

Jake nodded. "We all tallied the pros and cons about going. All we could see is that this would benefit us."

"All right then, if that's the decision, we need to get organized as soon as possible. I want all of our cars fitted with as much protection as we can. The windows and doors need to be reinforced with steel bars, either bolted or welded. I want the toughest tires fitted on the wheel frames, especially ones that will stay inflated even when they are pierced with something sharp. Jake, I'm going to leave that to you, Preston, Aaron and Kevin."

"Gotcha," Jake said.

"Charlie, I want you, Brian, Brittany and Heather to salvage every single bullet and shell we got left. I even want you guys to go to every house where you remember hunters from our high school use to be. Every, little bullet is important since all the gun stores have been cleared out. Furthermore, gather every bludgeon and sharp weapon we can spare to bring along."

"But we didn't go to your high school," Brian said.

"Just follow Charlie. He pretty much knew everyone at school"

"Ok," Charlie saluted. "I've got an idea where a couple of hunters lived."

"Kelly, I want you, Helen, Heidi and the kids to gather what non-perishable food we have to take with us. We don't how long this trip is going to take. I know it take us only a few hours to get there, but we want to try and avoid any major cities and highways in case there swarmed with zombies. Also, gather what other equipment you think would be useful: Flashlights, propane grills, radios, and anything else."

"Will do, David," Kelly said.

"And what will the rest of you guys be doing?" Brittany asked.

"Diane, Sara and I will go over the road maps to see what would be a good way to get to Baltimore. Like I said, we need to avoid any major city and highway in case their blocked with cars or swarmed with the undead. The main idea is to try and travel the back roads and go through only towns that are smaller than ours."

Kevin nodded. "Good idea. Maybe we'll find some survivors that will want to join us."

"Let's hope so. I don't want' run into a bunch of hillbilly psychos who want to use us for target practice," Kevin shuddered.

"Let's get to work guys," I said. Everyone went to their designated places while Sara and I grabbed a couple of road maps from the book area. Diane followed us in the back rooms where the computer was still running. Sara went through the road map books and marked each page for each state we have to travel to. I booted up the computer.

"We want to avoid all interstates and six-lane highways that lead into any city that has more than thirty-thousand people; twenty-thousand if we can help it," Sara said while she grabbed a pen and began to mark routes she thought would be suitable. "I remember reports on the radio and television that there were traffic jams outside the cities. It caused a lot of ambulances that were carrying wounded to be blocked off from the hospital."

"I remember that. When I left Sheldon, I practically had to dodge traffic to get out of the city. And our cities are not that much bigger than the other. It got better once I got to the open highway, but I really don't remember much," Diane trailed off.

David felt his chest tighten as he saw a single tear run down Diane's cheek. She had lost her father on Z-Day while she tried to take him to the hospital after a Runner bit him. They were halfway there when he turned and tried to bite his on daughter. She was able to kick him out of the car, but the experience was very damaging to her.

He placed his hand on her shoulder, rubbing it slightly to ease her pain. She smiled gratefully at him and placed her opposite hand over his.

"Thanks," she whispered.

"Get a room," Sara growled from her spot on the table.

David and Diane glanced at each other before looking back at Sara. "Ok," they both said. David grabbed Diane's hand, pulled her up, and walked to the door.

"Hey! Get back here!" Sara yelled.

* * *

Everyone spent hours on their assignments, working until after midnight before they decided it was time to turn in. They only got part of their projects done. Jake said it would be at least two weeks before their vehicles would be fully reinforced. Charlie wanted to wait until daylight to begin his search for ammunition. However, Kelly and the her group got most of their task already done.

While everyone went to bed, David asked Sara to grab Jake and meet him on the roof for a private meeting. He carried Diane, who fell asleep at the table, to their room. After the generator was turned off, he climbed up to the roof to find Jake and Sara waiting for him.

"What's up?" Jake asked as they sat down on the swinging chair.

"Well, we checked the road maps to see what would be a good, secluded route to take to Baltimore," David said. "There are a few good routes we could take, but it take at least two days to get there. And with Stiffs and the possibility of Runners out there, I don't think we want to camp out on the side of the highway."

"True," Jake nodded.

"But if we want to get there as quickly as we can, we have to pass through several well-developed towns. I checked each town's website to see what kind of population they have. If we want to get there in one day, we have to go through at least three towns. Two of them are the same size as ours while the last one is at least three times as big."

"David downloaded the third town's city map," added Sara. "There is a road that would take us around the city instead of going through it. However, that road leads us through the city's suburbs. And we know how those look."

Jake rubbed his face and stared at the ground. "So what do we do?"

Sara shrugged. "We were hoping you would have an idea. We're clean out."

"I suggested we send a scout ahead to check the area. One of use would volunteer to check both routes to see which way would be safer," said David. "This way, we can find a secure route to Baltimore."

"And I said it was stupid," Sara growled. "Diane agreed with me as well. We can't risk anyone of us getting killed just to see if the roadways are clear. It's a suicide mission."

"And I agree with David," Jake said. David rose an eyebrow in disbelief while Sara looked shocked. Then she scowled. "Don't look at me like that. It's a good idea. When I was in Desert Storm, we didn't charge forward without studying the battlefield for mines and other traps. If any of my men died because I didn't completely check the area, I wouldn't be able to live with myself. They were my responsibility. Their lives were more important than mine and if I had to die to save the lives of others, it was worth it."

David smiled. It was the qualities that he admired in Jake. The choices a leader a had to make to ensure the safety of others. Jake knew the consequences of his actions and knew how to properly plan ahead to avoid any unnecessary deaths.

Sara frowned as she stared at Jake. Then she groaned. "I don't like it, but I guess I can understand not wanting to go in head first." She got up off the chair and crossed her arms. "So how do we do this?"

"We're going to have to ask someone to volunteer. Of course, we need to warn them about the dangers they could-"

"I'll do it," David interrupted. Jake and Sara snapped their heads in his direction.

"What?" Sara gasped.

"Look, it was my idea. We're not going to be ready to roll for a couple more weeks. That's enough time to check and see if both routes are clear. I can take a motorcycle along with a few provisions and see if the roads and towns are safe to travel on."

"Why should you be the one to go? You're our leader, we need you here with us. And besides, you're pretty much crippled."

David winced at her accusation. "True, I am, but that's all the reason for me to go. I'm the only one here who is not at 100%. I'm expendable."

"How can you say that about yourself?" Jake yelled in rage. "You're the reason we're all here. You rescued us in the ice rink. You rescued us when we were surrounded in the parking lot. If anybody should go, it should be me, or even Kevin. All of us owe you our lives."

David looked down in shame and embarrassment. He thought it was weird that he was being this respected by a man who was more than twice his age. And never realizing how important he was to everyone. He thought everyone hated him for Christopher's death.

"So you see, you can't go," Sara finished.

"Too bad. It's my decision," David whispered. "We all have experience in the field but I'm the one who has the most. If you call me you guy's leader, then I'm nominating myself to go on this trip. End of story."

"You can't do that," Sara yelled.

"The hell I can't!"

"If you go, who's going to take us to Baltimore?"

David sighed. Then look at Jake. "Think you can handle things while I'm gone?"

Jake's eyebrows pretty much disappeared into his hairline and his mouth dropped to the floor. It was a few minutes before he spoke. "You...want me....to take everyone?"

"Yes. There's no else I trust better to take everyone to safety. Not even Kevin. You have the experience to lead them and I know they'll be safe with you."

"David, I can't do that. They trust you more than they trust me," Jake reasoned. "I don't think they will listen to me."

"They will. After what happened this morning, I don't think everyone is going to listen to me."

"David, Christopher's death was not your fault," said Sara. "We could not have known the Runners would be in the area. Quit beating yourself about it."

"Aaron and Heidi think that I left him to those monsters," yelled David. "They won't follow me anywhere now. That's why it Jake has to lead them. I can't ask anyone else to risk their life on this mission." He turned to Jake. "Will you do this for me?"

Jake didn't say anything at first. He kept glancing back and forth at David and Sara. In his mind, he didn't want to upset Sara. She saw David as a son, even though she never admitted it to anyone but Jake. But then again, Jake was right. It was difficult to ask anyone to go on a suicide mission unless they were willing to go on the trip themselves. Even though he hated to admit, David was the most likely candidate.

Jake swallowed, then nodded. "I'll do it."

Sara dropped her arms and stared at Jake. "You can't be serious. You're actually agreeing for David to do this with the most likely possibility he might not come back?"

"I've got no problem going," David shrugged.

"And if he doesn't have a problem, than neither do I," added Jake.

Sara threw up her hands. "Men!" She stomped off to the ladder and climbed down.

"Looks like I'm sleeping on the couch tonight," said Jake sadly.

"Sorry about that," David said.

Jake shrugged. "Don't worry about it. She'll calm down eventually. Now, are you sure you want to do this?"

David nodded. "I'm sure. If everyone wants to go, it's the least I can do." He covered his mouth as he yawned. "We'll talk about this more in the morning. I'm going to crash."

"I don't envy you in the morning," Jake said as he waited for David to climb down the ladder.

David looked up at his friend's face. "Why?"

"If Sara was bad tonight, I hate to see what Diane's going to do."

Even in the moonlight, Jake saw David's face pale considerably.

* * *

"David....?" Diane moaned as he sat down his side of the bed. He grabbed her hand as she reached for him. "Where were you?"

"Jake, Sara and I were going over a couple of things," David whispered as he stroked her hand. "Go back to sleep."

"Come here." She grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him closer. She buried her head into his chest and wrapped her arms around his middle. "You're not going anywhere."

David stiffened a little at the comment and began to sweat. But he just stroked her hair and hummed her favorite song. She sighed and snuggled closer.

_Jake's right. Tomorrow is going to be an ugly day.... _


	8. Fights and Trips

August 27, 2010, 9:25AM

Ch. 7

* * *

"YOU AGREED TO DO **WHAT**!?!?!" Diane's voice echoed through the store, causing everybody in the food court to wince. And she was on the other side of the store. Even Champ, who was eating his dog food, whimpered and lifted his paws over his head.

"I feel very sorry for David right now," Jake muttered into his oatmeal bowl. He had told the others what he and David agreed to last night. Everyone accepted Jake as the new leader, with some reluctance from Kevin and Sara.

_This may not be the best plan but what choice do we have? _Kevin thought.

"YOU ARE NOT EXPENDABLE!! ANY ONE OF US HERE IS MORE THAN QUALIFIED TO GO ONE THIS TRIP!!"

Kevin agreed with her. He would have gladly have gone on this trip. Not only was it necessary, he thought, it would be a great adventure. The thrill of driving into an unknown area seemed to be the ultimate adrenaline.

But he could understands David's view. David felt responsible for everyone's safety and it was his job to do this. He wouldn't risk anybody's safety he wouldn't want to risk himself. It was the quality that Kevin knew David was the best choice for this mission.

And that David had the devil's luck when it came to stuff like this helped as well.

"I DON'T CARE IF EVERYONE AGREES!!! YOU ARE NOT GOING OUT THERE!!!"

There was a few more seconds of seconds of silence before a soft crack was heard.

"FINE!! DON'T EXPECT ME TO CRY OVER YOUR DEAD BODY WHEN WE FIND IT!! WE'RE THROUGH!!"

Everyone just stopped what they were doing, shocked by Diane's outburst. Those two were the golden couple here. There times those two were joined at hip and even finishing each other's sentences at some points. When David was injured, Diane didn't leave his side for three days. Then during the winter, Diane was the only one who got the flu, but David never left her side until she was better two weeks later.

Kevin thought she would agree with David on this mission because she understood him the most.

Breakfast was finished in silence. Nobody said anything about what they heard; not even Aaron or Heidi. Everyone thought they just had intruded on something private, though had no choice but to watch the fight.

David appeared a few minutes later, holding his right cheek. Kevin saw that his cheek was inflamed and had the distinct image of a hand. David didn't look angry or embarrassed. In fact, he looked extremely depressed.

"Are you ok?" Kevin asked, even though he and everyone else knew the answer.

David nodded, though very solemnly. "I think I'll be ok."_ For how long, I don't know _He thought.

Kevin didn't want to ask, but felt like he had to. "Where's-?"

"She's locked herself in the office," David finished. "She wouldn't answer me."

Kevin looked around at the people in the food court. Heidi and Aaron were ignoring the conversation. Preston and his family were leaving after finishing washing their dishes. Brian and Brittany were still eating too, but they were watching David. Charlie, Heather, Jake, Kelly and Kevin were all gazing at David with sympathy in their eyes. Sara, however, was scowling at him.

"I told you this morning she was going to act like this. Haven't you put her through enough as it is?" she growled.

"And I knew it was going to happen," David replied. "But I would feel better about doing this than anybody else."

"But what about us?" Charlie asked. "How do you think we feel that you're always the one in danger? That it's you that must be in the most dangerous situations?"

"You've been through more crap in the past year than all of us combined," said Brittany.

"Even me and I was in Desert Storm," added Jake.

"I'm volunteering because I don't trust this transmission at all," David said. "Something about the transmission has me on edge and I don't like it. I'm going because I don't want to risk anyone's life for something that doesn't exist or could be a complete disaster."

He looked around the room. "I care about you guys too much to lose anyone. You're the only family I got."

Nobody else said anything afterwards. But, after a few minutes, Sara stood up, dropped her dishes in the sink, and said "you're an idiot do you know that?" Then she turned to everyone else. "Girls."

Brittany, Heather and Kelly nodded and got up. Heidi completely ignored her and kept eating. The three girls followed her out of the food court and walked to other end of the store.

"Where are you going?" Jake called out.

"Girl talk!" Kelly yelled back.

Charlie shuddered. "I hate girl talks. It's like girls are speaking their own language."

"Sara just said one word and they knew what was going to happen," Kevin said. "What do you think they're going to do?"

"They're going to talk to Diane about her bone-headed boyfriend," Heidi interjected. She and Aaron were leaving for their guard duty today. "Yeah, I'm a girl: I speak girl, you sexist pigs."

They watched the couple leave. "I totally forgot she was there," Charlie whispered.

David sighed. "Ok, guys. Recon is out today. All have your assignments to do. Remember, we leave in two weeks." He turned to Jake. "While you're working on your 350, I need to borrow the Tundra."

"What for?" asked Jake.

"I'm going to go find a motorcycle for the trip."

* * *

"Come on, Diane. You can't hide in there forever!" Sara yelled as she pounded on the door. Kelly, Brittany and Heather were standing behind her, waiting for Diane to crack under Sara's yelling.

"Forget it! I'm staying here until it's time to leave for Baltimore!" screeched Diane.

"Going to bathroom will be hard then," Kelly muttered.

Sara continued to pound on the door. "This is ridiculous. Everyone here and probably in the next town just heard you dump David."

"We were wondering what was going through your mind when you broke up with what you told me several times in the past year was the greatest man you ever met," Kelly yelled.

"You told us that you always love that guy, no matter what would happen," Brittany added. She didn't want to see the two lovebirds end their relationship either. She though it very special to find love in these times, especially since she and Brian were newlyweds when this all started. "So what's the deal?"

"HE PROMISED!!" Diane squawked through the door. A few seconds later there was a clicking noise and the door slowly opened. Diane's face appeared in the crack, tear-stained and red.

"He swore on his life that he wouldn't do anything like this after we rescued you guys. That he would only do the same stuff as everyone else and not endanger himself any more than he had to. If I lost him, what would I do then?"

"You've got us," Heather said. The other girls nodded.

"Like David told a few minutes ago; we're a family," said Sara. "And we're not going anywhere."

"But it's too hard!" Sara wailed. She collapsed into Sara, who nearly fell over but was caught by the others. "It's just like those romance stories you hear as a kid. You've found your prince charming that will take care of you the rest of your life."

Sara rolled her eyes, which no one saw. She was the eldest female member there and heard the story a lot at the hospital. It was classic one she heard mostly from pregnant teens and one that she often laughed at. She grew up and learned from her mom that the world wasn't as pretty as she read in a fairy tale. It's been that way since her father left.

But she has begun to see a life with Jake. The man was a close as husband than any other guy she met. One she could see growing old together.

"Hey, look at me," Sara whispered to Diane who looked up through red eyes. "David may be an idiot, but he's the hero we need right now. Christopher's death has put a dark cloud over us. The others risked their lives to discover the radio transmission and everyone has voted to take the trip to Baltimore, regardless of the danger. David volunteered to check everything to see if the routes we went over last night are safe. He's doing this because everyone else doesn't recognize the danger like he does."

"He's watching out for us," Heather added.

"Like a guardian," said Kelly.

"And friend," Brittany finished.

Sara let go of Diane, who backed up a few steps. "If you were given the choice, who would you send?"

"Anyone else!" Diane screamed. The other girls back a couple steps from her outburst. "David's the only thing I got left in this world to keep my from going insane! How can I trust someone who breaks their promises? Huh? Tell me that!"

"Everyone else volunteered but-"

"Then tie him up and let someone else do it! I'm tired of wondering if he's going to come home after he goes out. I can't take it anymore!!" With that, she walked back into the room and slammed the door, making everyone flinch.

After a moment, Sara walked up and knocked on the door again. "Are you going to come out or not?"

"NO!! FUCK OFF!!!" came a scream from inside. Sara snarled and kicked the door before turning to the others.

"Well, that went bad."

"What was your first clue?" Kelly replied. She sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. "Do you think those two will be alright?"

Sara scoffed. "They'll probably be slobbering on each by tomorrow afternoon."

* * *

David was cursing himself for not bringing someone with him to load a motorcycle in the truck. He could have just brought a container of gas and filled up the bike there, but then would have to explain to Jake about why he left the Tundra in the middle of a junkyard.

Well, it wasn't really a junkyard, per say. It was an abandoned vehicle dealership on the outskirts of town, where not too many zombies were staggering around. The place sold cars, trucks, motorcycles, ATV's, Dune buggy's and motorboats. They were all late models, the newest one made nearly 15 years ago. There was also some construction equipment that was available for hourly rents. His dad once rented a small backhoe to dig up the sewer tank in their backyard.

David gave one final heave and the cycle finally rolled onto the flatbed of the truck. He wiped the sweat off his brow before placing down the kickstand. He went through the rows of cycles, trying to find one that wasn't rusted and in pieces. After finding nothing useful, he walked to building where they kept their most expensive products. Through the window, he found what he was looking for. A 1993 Harley Davidson. Perfect for traveling long distances and with enough speed to make a quick getaway. The door was locked, but that didn't stop him from hurling a cinder block through the display case and dragging th bike out.

Once the Harley was strapped the truck, David took a glance at his surroundings. There were no zombies in sight so he decided to hang around for a moment of peace. A majority of the city was surrounded by hills, giving the city a valley-like look. The dealership was built on one of those hills. The view from there was better than the one at Wal-Mart. From this point, David could see the entire town and notice for the first time how quiet and still it was. Every time he was up on the roof at the store, the noise of the moaning dead was always deafening to the ears. Even with the fence around the store.

Up here, the city never looked so empty. There were no cars, no airplanes, no police sirens and no smog. The air was the cleanest as it had every been and for once, David could breathe fresh air instead of the stench of dead bodies.

But he couldn't really enjoy the moment. It felt like David's heart was tearing in two after what happen this morning. He knew Diane was going to yell like that, but that didn't make him feel any better. He felt more like he betrayed Diane and the promise he made to her last year. That hurt ten times worse than the slap.

David sat on the tailgate, rubbing his eyes. Why was he risking his relationship to go on this mission when everyone else at the store volunteered as well? Why risk his life when he was handicapped?

_Because the big city you have to go through is Trenton, New Jersey and you remember the report on the internet._

* * *

Flashback

David was sitting in the office, his leg propped up on a stool. He had just went through the new list of cities destroyed by the United Nations. St. Paul, Amsterdam, Sydney, Rio Buenos Aires, Johannesburg, and Baghdad had joined the ranks of destroyed cities.

It's weird how three months have past since this all started and Yahoo is still working David thought.

He clicked back to the homepage and decided to check the major cities that were within the East Coast. They were the only ones that didn't seem to much of a threat because there were no reports of Pittsburgh, Boston, Washington D.C. or Philadelphia being destroyed.

He typed 'Pennsylvania' into the search engine and clicked 'Go'. A list of related articles showed up in the results, but nothing relating to zombie attacks. He changed the searches to show the most recent articles. However, that didn't help either. They were just the same as all the articles he read above the outbreaks. The usual 'people eating each other', 'dead walk the Earth', and 'riots' results were shown. It was all old stuff.

The same results showed up on Delaware, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Nothing showed anything different.

That is, until he searched New Jersey.

Immediately, the first result had the title "Civil War! Militia vs. Civilians vs. Zombies" highlighted in blue. He moved the mouse on the link and clicked. The link led straight to the Channel 4 News website in Trenton. He felt his blood chill as he read the story.

"A National Guard blockade was attacked at 8:45 A.M. Eastern Time by what seemed to be a group of NRA members just outside of the city. The blockade was made to ensure that the undead, who were previously thought to be rioters, didn't escape the city.

However, a small group of people who told us earlier were from the same neighborhood, opened fired on the blockade. The Guard fired back, issuing a gun battle between the two groups. Dozens of members and soldiers were killed and many more were wounded. Several of the injured were rescued, but not before a group of the undead appeared and attacked the rescue workers. The workers were forced to retreat, losing several of their patients.

We just got an interview with one of the NRA members. According to him, the National Guard had entered the groups neighborhood, firing on zombies from their vehicles. However, several of the victims were actually humans who couldn't get into their homes fast enough. Nearly 25 people were killed who showed no symptoms of bites or 'zombieism'. The neighbors rallied together to take their revenge.

Police and the National Guard are trying to restore order, but more civilians are beginning to take the law into their own hands before the Army can come and help. If this keeps up, which one of us will the become the monsters?"

Flashback ends.

* * *

He never told anybody about what he read that day. That report gave David chills every time he thought about it. If anybody had read that, they would have not volunteered to do this. He didn't know whether or not to feel sorry for the people or the Guard, but he new things in not very organized in Trenton. But then again, where was a city that was organized?

_Baltimore, I hope._

The stench of death wafted underneath his nose. He snapped his head up and looked around. About 20 yards away, about a dozen Stiffs were ambling their way towards him, completely silent. If he hadn't smelled them, they would have walked up to him and he wouldn't have noticed.

David cursed himself for not paying attention to his surroundings. He hopped down, pushed the tailgate up and hobbled to the truck. By the time he got the truck started, the zombies had almost reached the back of the pickup. David pulled the truck into gear and tore out of the parking lot. When he finally calmed down, he thought about what just happened.

_I didn't here them moan or make any kind of noise whatsoever. Were they hunting me?_

* * *

It was evening before David decided to call it a night. They had outfitted Jake's Ford 350 with reinforced steel bars on the windshield, passenger windows and back window. They replaced the tires, refitted the cage on the back, placed braces on the undercarriage so nothing could be ripped out and changed the oil, automatic and power steering fluid. They had begun to work on Aaron's car when David arrived with his new Harley.

He told Jake and Kevin about what the zombies were now doing and they both agreed they were stalking David.

"I'll warn everyone tomorrow about this new development," Jake said. "We're going have to be extra cautious now that they have learned how to hunt."

"It's creepy though," Kevin shuddered. "It's almost like they're evolving."

Jake shuddered along with him. "_Don't _tell everyone that."

David helped with reinforcing Aaron's car before turning in. As Jake walked off, David stopped Kevin.

"Is Diane still..?"

"Pissed as hell? Yeah."

David bowed his head and sighed. "What am I going to do? She said if I ever broke my promise to her, she would stop being with me."

"What's the first rule about changing the radiator?" Kevin asked.

"Never take the cap off while it's hot," David answered with a smile. It was a joke David's dad told them when they were kids. He said dealing with his high school girlfriend's moods was like trying to fix a car.

"Diane loves you, dude," said Kevin. "Just give her a few more days to cool off and you two will be back together."

"I don't have a few days," retorted David. "We planned to get out of here as soon as we could. The faster we get done, the quicker we can be to becoming safe and secure."

"Wait. What are you suggesting?"

David sighed. "I'm going to leave tomorrow morning."

Kevin's eyes widened. "If you do that, Diane will really kill you."

"I know. That's why I'm going to leave before everyone gets up."

* * *

Around 5:30 the next morning, David was sitting on his side of the bed, watching Diane's body slowly breathe in and out. He slept on his old air mattress in the layaway the night before, not wanting to risk spilling his plans to Diane.

He didn't want to do this. More than anything, he wanted to beg Diane to forgive him so they could be together. To live with her in whatever peace they could for as long as it could last. But right now, he had a job to do. The sooner he could get done, the quicker he could come back to her.

She's most likely going to kill me when I get back.

Nevertheless, he rose up off the bed, walked to her side, and kissed her forehead. She mumbled something he couldn't hear before settling back down again with a small smile. It made him smile. He hoped he could see that smile when he got back.

We put on his usually outfit, grabbed a helmet they found in Autoparts and walked to the garage. Kevin helped him pack a few essentials for the trip. Strapped to his bike was a small tank of gas, a few tools to help him siphon gas from pumps or cars, a few gallons of water, some rations, and an extra wheel. On him was his crowbar, his Glock and Beratta, and several filled magazines. He hope he wouldn't have to use them.

"You sure about this?" a voice asked. David turned around to see Sara standing in the doorway, looking like she just woke up.

David nodded. "I'm sure. I should be back by tomorrow around midday. The next day, tops."

Sara walked to him, shaking her head. "You better come back." She pulled him into a hug before he could protest. "Or I'll find your body and bury you in a dress."

David chuckled and pulled away. He then pulled the kickstand up and pushed his bike outside to the gate with Sara behind him. When the reached it, Sara pulled a key from her pocket and unlocked the gate. David mounted the cycle, placed a helmet on his head, and kick started his bike on.

The engine roared to life. The bike was still in good condition despite not being cared for nearly a year. The vibrations were smooth, but rumbled with power. David revved the engine a couple of times, checking to see if there were any complications.

"Good luck, David," yelled Sara over the noise.

David gave a salute before pulling away from the gate. When he reached the street, he throttled the engine and tore away from his home.


	9. Angershort chap

CRASH!! CRASH!!....CRASH!!........CRASH!!**CRASH!!!**

Everyone in the food court winced with each sound of shattered glass caused by one pissed off girl and her baseball bat. They all felt bad for her and wanted to help, but nobody wanted to approach when she was swinging that bat at the frozen food, glass doors. Especially with the language she was using with every swing.

"Stupid piece of-CRASH!!-with his damn nobility and fuc-CRASH!!-pride!! When I get my fu-CRASH!!-hands on him, I'm going-CRASH!!-his-CRASH!!- and shove them up his-CRASH!!!"

The morning started with Diane looking for David, hopeful to try and work things out and see if she could talk him out of going on the trip. She asked everyone if they had seen him, each one replying no. Except Sara, who didn't say anything.

When everyone had gathered for breakfast and David still missing, Diane began to panic. She began to blabber about zombies snatching him in the middle of the night while they were both in bed and were now feasting on him outside. Diane was on her way to get her gun to go look for him when Sara finally broke the silence and told everyone that he had left earlier in the morning to go to Baltimore.

Everyone felt the air in the building drop about twenty degrees and turned back to their food, not daring to look Diane in the eye. If they did, all they saw was her cold, blank stare. After a few seconds, her left eye began to twitch very violently along with her hands. She then suddenly grabbed a bat that was laying in a pile of blunt weapons and stormed off to the frozen foods, where the joyful sound of her working out her frustrations was echoing through the store.

"She's going to kill him now, you know that?" Kevin said out loud.

"I told him she was," Sara answered. "Apparently, he never had to deal with a woman scorned before."

"Now that is the most deadliest weapon in the world," Kelly said. Everyone in the food court nodded their head, including the kids, who had witnessed when the mom got mad at their dad.

Everyone continued with their meal, then got up to prepare for the trip in a couple of weeks. Jake gathered his group to work on the cars, Charlie's group went to search for more ammo in the city and homes, and Kelly's group went to gather more supplies to take on the trip.

Meanwhile, Sara went to try and prevent Diane from breaking any more doors.

"I still don't understand why David made me the leader instead of you," Jake told Kevin from underneath Aaron's car. Jake was using a high-power nailgun to nail some chicken wire to the undercarriage of the car. This way, if Aaron runs over any zombies, they won't be able to rip any of the brake or fuel lines. Primitive, but hopefully effective.

Kevin was changing the oil while Preston was drilling reinforced, steel bars on the passenger side windows. Aaron had gone to get more screws for the drill, so now was time for Jake to ask his question that had been plaguing him since yesterday. He knew if he asked with Aaron around that he would only get criticism.

Kevin sighed and stopped for a moment to wipe his hands on a rag. "Cause none of us know the steps it takes to be a leader. Sure, we ok at killing zombies. But all of us are watching out to make sure that as a team, we don't let our teammates down. We take care of each other. But David's taking care of all of us."

Preston added his thoughts as well. "I know that if I was made leader, I would be constantly worried that I would let one us get killed. I don't have to confidence to watch out for

all of us. I barely have enough to protect my family." He sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I would crack at the first sign of danger."

"You, on the other hand, barely flinch when a Runner or Stiff is aiming for you," said Kevin. "And you were great at leading us when we would get fuel for the generator."

Jake grabbed the bottom of the car and scooted out from underneath it. He stared at the ceiling and asked, "I may not flinch, but I get scared every time I see one of those things screaming for my blood. I'm just as frightened as you are."

Kevin chuckled. "That makes you human, Jake. I would be worried about your sanity if you said you weren't scared."

"Me, too," added Preston.

"Don't worry. We'll all watch for each other. That's what makes us a family."

Jake smiled. A family. That's what he's always wanted.

"Now let's stop this mushiness and get back to work," Kevin announced. "I want to get done so I can watch Diane beat the living crap out of David when he get's back.

* * *

David felt a shiver go up his spine as he sped down the highway to Baltimore. It was like the fingers of Death were creeping up and down his back. He knew what it probably was.

_Diane's pissed. I can feel it from here. I know I'm going to get it when I get back. _

If I get back.

David shook his head and tried to enjoy what he could of the trip he was taking. It seemed more like he needed to get out of the city, much less the store. After crossing the state border, he was now in North Carolina.

True to his prediction, the highway was packed with abandoned cars, trucks, motocycles, and worse, skeletons of the deceased. The smell of the decay wafted through his nose from time to time, making him gag. But he tried to keep his focus on the road as he drifted through the vehicles. He could barely go over 45 miles per hour.

But that left him more time to join the scenery. He never realized how beautiful the Appalachian Mountains were until after all the death and carnage he seen. The trees all around him had begun to turn red, yellow and orange with the Fall season. Some of them had begun to fall and float with the wind blowing, creating a scene that he only saw in movies.

When he reached a point on the highway that had no decay, the crisp smell of mountain air would intoxicate him. It almost made him want to stop and take a nap underneath a tree on the side of the road. He rarely had smelt such clean air, after being raised in the city of smog and now with the stench of rotting flesh and blood.

He almost wanted to turn around and just bring everyone here instead of Baltimore. It seemed like there was no need to take everyone to the city when there was this garden of Eden here.

_But then nothing last's forever. As Kevin said many months ago, as long as homo sapiens are alive, zombies will always exist._

A green sign brushed passed my vision on the side of the highway. I managed to get a glimpse of what it said before it went by.

Maryland border: 5 miles.

Good, about another hour or two and I'll be in the Baltimore area.

* * *

Sorry about the short chapter. I needed to update something or else I was going to go crazy.


	10. Found

Ok. Being the idiot that I am, I didn't properly research the locations of where several cities where before I wrote them down. If I did, I would know that Trenton, New Jersey is on west side of Maryland and you would not need to travel through the city to reach Baltimore. So instead, the city David has to travel through is Raleigh, North Carolina.

Ch. 9

_Well, it looks like a normal city. If a normal city looks has abandoned cars blocking the streets, bleached skeletons littering the ground, and a giant enclosed area with concrete wall's twenty feet high._

David was on the outskirts of the city, viewing Baltimore with a pair of binoculars from a building. When he reached the suburban areas around the city, he was surprised to see that there were no zombies within the area. Sure, the suburbs were smoky, littered and smelled like death, but it was the first time he seen a place look so empty.

Also, there were no signs of any human evidence; besides the skeletons. No bullet casings, dried blood, fresh tire marks, or anything. The suburbs have been coated with smoke stains, rust, papers, bones and graffiti. It looked like no one had been through this way for a long time.

David turned his binoculars to the compound in the city. The wall they built was new, at least six months old. It was built with concrete blocks, stacked twenty-feet high, and was painted black for some reason.

But what shocked him the most was there several guards walking on top of the wall. The were dressed in black and white military camouflage and were carrying automatic weapons. I couldn't tell what military branch they were, but the looked very slick and very professional. He couldn't, however, see anything inside the compound except several buildings that stood higher than the wall or through the windows that rose higher than it.

Now, the only question is should he go and see if it was worth it.

He put his binoculars up and climbed down from his post. He couldn't see a Stiff on any of the streets leading to the compound. But he didn't let his guard down as he reached the ground and walked to his bike. He kept his eyes open at all times, especially now.

He only had experience with zombies in his area. And if they were evolving, he couldn't imagine what they would be like around the world.

With clear streets, he kick-started his motorcycle and headed towards what looked the only gate to the complex. He weaved in between cars and other obstacles, sometimes running over litter and bones.

He took in his surroundings. Pretty much every window was broken in all the buildings and everything inside was looted. TV's, furniture, tools, groceries, were completely gone from what he could tell as he rode by. Even tables and chairs were gone from restaurants and bars.

The outer-town was completely deserted. And the quietness was really starting to creep him out.

He turned left on a street and the complex came into view. Up close, it was really impressive and intimidating. It was like the wall was separating him from the rest of the world.

As soon as he could see the guards, they tensed up with the rifles in their hands. David saw one guy talking into his radio. Quickly, more guards were walking along the wall towards the gate. David couldn't see their expressions, but he felt very nervous. So as he neared the gate, he slowed to a stop, put his bike on the kickstand and walked to the gate.

"Hello! You guys got a bathroom in there?!" he called out.

There was a moment of silence, then all the guards started laughing. One leaned over on the other side and said something to the ground. A moment later, there was a groaning noise and the gate began to open. The soldiers on the wall returned to their positions while a few soldiers walked through the gate. They too were dressed as military personnel. All three were holding automatic rifles, but one was holding a bottle of water, who handed to David.

"Thank you, sir" David said as he uncapped the bottle and took a swig.

"What's your name, son?" the guy in the middle asked.

He finished half the bottle before he choked. "David, sir. David Peterson."

"I'm Master-Sergeant Wilson. Where are you from?"

"North Carolina."

The man's eyebrows rose. "You traveled all the way here on a motorcycle? That's pretty brave son."

David shrugged. "I've handled worse."

"I don't doubt it," the man said, nodding the sidearms on my hips. "Do you know how to use those?"

"When the time calls for it."

Wilson smiled. "Come on. I'll show you around."

David followed the sergeant and his buddies inside the compound while pushing my bike. The first thing he noticed was there a couple of dozen soldiers running around the inner edge of the compound. They were looking over maps, fixing weapons, cooking, and even playing cards. Several of them looked up and waved to him when they walked through. All of them were dressed in military camouflage with blue bands on their arms.

Beyond them, he could see that some of the streets were blocked with barbed-wire barricades and at least one guard posted at them.

_Now why would they have guards_ in _the city?_

"Follow me," said Wilson. "I'll show you the city." He let David to the wall, were there was steps leading to the top. He followed him up and when they reached the top, David followed Wilson's gaze.

"Welcome to Baltimore, David," said Wilson.

From the outside, it looked like the wall was a perfect square around a section of the city. But from David's vantage point, he saw that the wall covered only three sides of the guarded sector with the fourth side leading straight into the bay. The shoreline had to be more than three miles away from the gate. There was a small peninsula leading straight into the water. Around the shoreline were several railroad cars, boat ports, a couple of baseball fields, and what looked like a small, military base on the very tip of the land. In the bay, he could several fishing boats tossing nets into the water.

He even thought he saw a small battleship on the horizon.

And even in the far corner of the complex, David could see that the Baltimore Raven's football stadium was in the complex as well.

When he looked into the streets, he felt his heart lift for the first time in months. Throughout the town, dozens of people were walking in the streets. All of them looked very healthy, dressed in clean clothes and wore expressions on their faces that life was completely normal. In fact, there were people shopping at stores, kids playing in the park and a city workers cleaning the streets and expanding apartment buildings. There was even a small concert on one of the streets. Several people had gathered around an outdoor restaurant to hear what sounded like a Peruvian flute band.

Weird.

"Wow, this was more than I expected," David said with awe.

"Yeah, it is something, isn't it? We set up our complex within the famous Inner Harbor, where all kinds of hotels are built. They've become a real help when people need a place to sleep, as well have the homes that are built in the peninsula Our main base of operations in the complex is at Fort McHenry.

"How many people are here?"

"At the last count, a little over twenty thousand. We range doctors, police officers, fire crews, soldiers to cooks, teenagers, seniors, salespeople, mechanics, and even a few college teachers."

"Teachers?"

"Yep. We even have a school for the little ones." Wilson handed him a pair of binoculars and pointed to the left side of the complex. "Our first step towards educating our future."

David held the binocular to his eyes. Through the lenses, he saw a about a dozen 8-year-olds sitting at desks through an open window, staring at a dry-erase board while a blonde female teacher was writing down math problems.

"It's so....calm here," David whispered as he lowered the binoculars. "When were the walls built?"

"We finished them about two months ago. The brigade I was a part of was clearing out sections of the city when my Captain realized this would a be a good start to try and start over. With the creatures beginning to slow because of decay and the bay giving us a form of protection because the creatures can't swim, we got to work immediately in March. Now, here we are today. The wall begins on the shore near Little Italy and stretches north to State Highway 40. It then extends east until it meets highway 129, which then goes south to merge with Interstate 395 and finally ends when it reaches the bay."

"Is everyone here Baltimore citizens?"

"Only a fourth. Everyone else came from other cities around the state."

David rose an eyebrow. "Other cities?"

Wilson nodded. "Right now, there are three platoons scouring cities all around Maryland, looking for survivors and bringing them here. So far, my troops have been very successful."

"Three plat....just how many soldiers do you have stationed here?" David asked.

"Including the other platoons? Around five thousand. They're stationed at other points of the city, but are in secure locations."

_Five thousand? Wasn't that a little much to be focused on one station. I think only one thousand would be enough to protect a small complex such as this,_ David thought.

"Are there any other protected cities?"

"Only a few. There is one in Pennsylvania, another near the border of New York, and one in Vermont. However, none of them are as big as this place. They're more of a....series of complexes for temporary relief. When they here about the progress here, the military buses them over."

David nodded. But even though he pretended to agree, something about this was really unusual.

"So this isn't your base of operations? Is you commander somewhere else?"

For a moment, Wilson's smile disappeared. It came back in an instant, but it was more forced.

"Sorry. But that's confidential to civilians. We can't let our enemies know where our central command is in the country."

Enemies? Who hell are we fighting against besides zombies?

David was about to ask again when a voice rang out across the wall. "Contact! North wall!"

Wilson immediately turned around and looked at the area on the outside of the wall with his binoculars. For a moment, he swung his gaze frantically from left to right before he stopped. "There they are."

David followed his lead and looked out into the streets. From a quarter of mile away, he could see three figures running towards the gate. Even from the distance, he knew they were Runners. He could hear their distant cries and see distinct flashes of red on their bodies.

"Ok. We got two unknowns, one male, one female. There other one looks like soldier who ended up in the wrong part of town," Wilson announced.

"One of ours?" one soldier asked.

"Can't tell, but highly likely. Stupid bastard probably wandered from his post without backup."

David felt a rush of guilt. It sounded exactly what happened to Christopher.

"Shall I engage?" asked the soldier, raising his automatic weapon.

"When their in range, you may fire."

The soldier held his weapon to his shoulder and waited for the Runners to get within range. At the way the were moving, they were at the wall in seconds.

But David had a way to impress them.

"There almost here," said the soldier.

"Don't fire until you know-"

Three gunshots rang through the air and the Runners dropped to the pavement. Wilson and the soldier jumped at the sound because there was no way they were in range to take a shot. Wilson turned to see David with his Glock in his hands aimed at the Runners.

"Did you just shot them from here?" the Wilson asked.

David holstered his Glock and smirked at the Sergeant. "Told ya. When the need calls for it, I'm never miss."

"That's nearly impossible!" exclaimed the soldier. "They were nearly two hundred yards away. You couldn't have done that with a handgun!"

Wilson's smile was back. "You know, we are recruiting."

David shrugged. "I might do that, but first, I need to head out of here."

"And why is that," Wilson asked suspiciously. His face now looked like he was struggling to keep in his anger. "You're here now, why do you need to leave."

"My friends are still in the town I came from. I volunteered to check out your location after we heard your broadcast on a police CB radio."

"Oh, really!" Wilson exclaimed. "Well, then that changes everything. The more, the merrier I always say."

He grabbed David's shoulders, spun him around, and started pushing him down the stairs. David began to feel very cautious about the master-sergeant's actions. For one moment, he was angered by David's sudden departure. The next moment, he was eager for him to leave and bring his friends back.

David's original distrust for this place suddenly began to grow.

Wilson kept pushing David until he was at his motorcycle. He then grabbed a couple of bottles of water and packed into the cycle's saddle bag. He then waved a soldier over and turned to me.

"As good as you are those pea shooters, you need some serious firepower if you want to survive now." The soldier came over with an automatic weapon with several magazine clips. He handed it to Wilson, who held it out to David. "This is a basic M16. Each magazine can hold up to thirty rounds. I think it should be sufficient enough to see you on your journey."

David hesitantly picked the weapon up from his hands. The solid weight of his handguns gave him a great deal of confidence, like tiger stalking its prey. But the weight of the automatic weapon gave him a feeling of ....destruction?

He didn't know what the feeling was, but all David was that he didn't like it. Nevertheless, he strapped the gun to his back.

"Thanks, Sergeant. We'll try to be back within the next few days," David told Wilson.

"We'll have an apartment ready for you and your friends the minute you get back," Wilson told him as he held out his hand.

David nodded and shook his hand as well. "Thanks, sir." Yet, it felt like he just sealed his fate.

He swung his leg over the cycle and started it. The machine roared to life. David turned the throttle and blasted down the street.

_Okay, the long way has been checked,_ David thought. _Now to check the short route._


	11. AN please don't kill me

I'm afraid that my laptop has crashed and uploading my stories will be a lot slower since I'm using the school's computers. Also, I'm graduating from college in May, but I also have to take summer classes to receive my diploma. So I won't have much free time.

To be honest, I don't have an accurate idea of when my next upload will be. It might take a few months.


	12. Raleigh

Sorry about the late update. Expect grammatical errors and misspellings.

* * *

David barely had a moment to think as he drove towards the city of Raleigh. The closer he got to the city from Baltimore, the more the roads were blocked with cars, skeletons and other debris that was scattered across the highways. He spent more than half the time trying to maneuver his cycle in between obstacles.

It was strange that he never found any zombies between his current position and Baltimore. In fact, it was downright weird and unusual. David thought any sounds from the city or movement of the troops would be enough to attract them. But the only movement he saw was a herd of deer that took off from eating the grass that was poking through the pavement.

As he approached the city, he could see the skyscrapers in the distance. Even after a year, they still outlined the sky with an imposing magnificence. All fires and sounds were gone from the city, giving an erie feeling in David's soul. The car horns, the chattering of people, sirens of police cars, and the rumble of trains was gone. He was used to that sound back in his hometown, but here it was strange. It was a ghost town.

The road David traveled on led him to an small urban district before he to the center of the city. It was mostly filled with empty cars along with fast-food restaurants, small businesses, attorney offices, a park with a pool, dozens of street lights, shops lined with women's merchandise, and other businesses you would find on a strip.

David came to stop on what was once a busy intersection and turned off the motorcycle. From the bike's saddle bags he pulled a battery powered radio, a police scanner and a hand-held walkie. He turned them on in sequence in hopes of finding a signal in the city.

The walkie and scanner were set on search while he tuned to the radio to all AM and FM frequencies he could find. After nearly 15 minutes of searching, he couldn't find anything. What was even worse was he couldn't find the frequency for the signal his friends found that came from Baltimore.

In his frustration, he chucked the radio as hard as he could. However in his rage, he didn't noticed he chucked it through the giant window of a nearby Bank of America. The crash that followed seemed to echo throughout the entire city. David flinched at the sound.

"That was stupid," he muttered as he kick started the bike.

Then, out of nowhere, several stiffs came from around the corner behind him. Two more seemed to rise from behind an abandoned suburban on his right. Another dozen seem to appear out of nowhere in front of him. Each one was reaching their arms out in desperation as they stumbled as fast as they could towards him.

"Time to go," David muttered. Before he took off, he pulled the M16 he got from the soldiers from his pack. He checked to see if it was loaded then wrapped the strap around his shoulders. He gunned the throttle and tore down the street.

The zombies in front hurried quicker towards him. David made a sharp left turn. He dodged more cars and debris, but also ended up dodging more stiffs that were coming to check out what made the crashing sound. David swore he could feel their fingers grasping his arms and face as he hurried on passed them. He could see more at the end of his street heading towards him. He opened the throttle, charging straight towards them. He then made a sharp left turn onto other street just seconds before the new horde blocked him off.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he spotted no zombies on this street. He saw the name of the street he was on. He hoped he could find a clear spot where he could check the city maps he printed the day he left. So he continued on this street for about two blocks before he decided he was safe enough for a few minutes. It was an intersection where he could keep a good eye in all four directions.

It took only a moment for David to find the street he was on. From his position, he still had a few blocks before he could get to the main turnpike that surrounded the city. It was the one Heather and himself chose for the quickest route through the city. It was elevated off the ground and was possibly empty of stiffs. If David was hoping to get to it, he had to travel another ten blocks and around another park/town square to get to an exit ramp a mile beyond that. He only hoped he could get there unscathed and make it to the next town.

David put the map away and checked behind him. A few of the slightly, faster stiffs had already made it around the corner.

"Damn, these guys know how to move," he muttered.

He put the cycle in gear and tore away from the intersection. Street after street whizzed by his vizor, each one having a number of undead monsters traveling towards the sound of his motorcycle. That made him increase the throttle a little more. The fuel injection made the front of his cycle slightly rise of the ground and his speed picked up.

The farther he traveled, the bigger the buildings got. The skyscrapers he saw earlier now loomed above him. Once filled with bustling people, they were now nothing but empty shells. Several of the windows from buildings were broken out and shards of glass still covered the street. And once again, he had to dodge cars, trash cans, and at one point, a military hummer. But he soon grinned as he saw the turnpike just a mile away. David soon emerged from the urban canyon of the street he was traveling on and into the town square.

"OH FUCK ME SIDEWAYS!" David screamed and leaned his body as far as he could to the left. The bike skidded across the street and wheels eventually slipped. David hit the pavement hard with the bike falling on his legs. He skidded to a stop, just barely missing a parked car. He groaned with pain and looked at the park.

Zombies. It seemed like every single zombie in the state of North Carolina was in the five-acre town square. They were all jammed gut-to-butt. It was standing room only in the crowd. They seemed to be everyone and everything. Male, female, light, dark, bloody. Some were still intact while others were missing arms or dragging bloody stumps were legs once were. There were others who had gaping holes in the stomachs and chests. Also, there were some others that had their ears, eyes, cheeks, and hair pulled off. Maybe even eaten. But what freaked David out the most was tree were even a few that had no legs at all. There was one only ten meters away, crawling slowly on his hands and elbows. It was softly growling in frustration as its hands were treaded on by the other zombies.

David struggled to his feet, clutching his sore side from the impact on the pavement.

"Gotta move," he grumbled. However, the moment he got to his feet, the zombies immediately took notice. As one, the group shuffled towards him. Their hands reaching for him with an extreme hunger in their red eyes.

"Dammit," he muttered. David pulled the bike back up and jumped on. He kickstarted the bike. It roared to life and jumped forward back the way he came.

Of course, the street he just previously traveled on was beginning to fill up with the zombies. Drawn earlier to the cycle's engine, they came forward with the same hunger as the ones in the park. David gunned to the engine and began to lean right. But before he could straighten up, he heard the engine begin to sputter at a rapid pace. He gunned the throttle as hard as he could but he kept slowing down.

David's panic increased when the heavy scent of gasoline filled his nostrils. He stopped the bike and checked the fuel line next to his legs. To his horror, the line was ripped out of the distributer and the gas tank. He had no way of fixing it in the short amount of time he had. In frustration, David pushed the cycle over.

"There is no way my luck is that bad," he muttered. He grabbed the M-16, his sidearms, and his pack and jogged away from his wreck just as the two groups of zombies converged on his street. With all the gasoline still heavy in the air, an idea struck him. David switched the M-16 to single shot and then quickly aimed his automatic weapon for the first time at the exposed gas tank.

His first shot ricochet off the concrete just inches from the gas tank. His second shot impacted the tailpipe above tank. He took a deep breath and fired his third shot just as the first zombies were even with the cycle. The explosion wasn't as big as car that blew up last year, but it was enough to knock over the first dozen bodies around the gas tank. Shrapnel ripped through the others, creating wounds that wouldn't bleed. A few were lucky and impacted right through their craniums.

David then wrapped the automatic around his shoulders and took off before he could be in danger again. But he only got a hundred feet before his old injury began to throb even worse than usual. His run soon became a hobble as pain shot through his leg each time it hit the pavement. He thought the spill he took must have aggravated it more than usual. He was still moving faster than they were, but eventually he would have to slow down.

To top it off, he was completely lost as well. His wreck and panic left him completely oblivious to his surroundings. He had no idea what street he was on or how to get out of the city.

But what matter the most right now was finding a new vehicle. If he could find something to travel, even as something as simple as a bicycle, he would have an edge over his pursuers. But that was easier said than done running down a street that was jam-packed with cars. To his horror, there were still people trapped in their cars. Many of them were trying desperately to break the glass of their doors as he ran by. A few were reaching through cracked windows, shredding their arms in the process, just to grab him. He felt their dead fingers gripping his jacket as he hurried by.

Soon, David came to an intersection. To his left was a one-way street that was empty of zombies, but filled with cars. Three lanes of cars jammed together and some even on the sidewalk. There was hardly any room to run in between the cars either. It looked like the only way through was to run on top of the roofs. However, David couldn't risk injury in case he slipped.

The center lane was like the one he was already on, but he could see more zombies in the distance converging on him. There were most likely drawn to the moans and cries from the dozens of their companions behind him. He was safe were probably another minute before he was in any danger.

The right was the other side of one-way street, but was less crowded since there was a giant parking lot a half-block away. David thought it was the lot for the shopping mall he saw on one end of the town square.

But it was soon a sight that made him gape. It seemed to be the spot where the National Guard had made their last stand. Camouflaged humvees and jeeps were scattered over the street and parking lot. Thousands of empty bullet casings filled the street along with abandoned rifles and automatics. There were dozens of bodies scattered over the area as well. Some looked like they were zombies while others were dressed in camouflage clothing with the exception of their bodies being ripped to shreds. There was also a small group of bodies piled near one of the jeeps. Their bodies were decayed after one year, but David could see a single bullet hole each in their heads.

Maybe there was something here he could use. With all of the scattered military vehicles around, there had to be some spare weapons he could take with him back to his home bass. David eagerly moved to check the vehicles. Suddenly, several bodies rose up in the center lane in front of him. Once they were back on their feet, the much closer zombies began to shuffle towards him. He stiffened with shock. They must have been playing possum on the ground, just waiting for someone alive to walk by.

David pulled the M-16 off his shoulder and began firing. The nearest zombie's jaw exploded in a spray of blood and bone, but still kept coming. He fired again, but only managed to clip the right side of the creature's face. Not enough to bring it down.

"Shit," he cursed. Holding the heavy automatic was different than using the pistols. He had a hard time adjusting to the recoil after using his guns for so long.

Desperate, David switched the gun to the 'burst' mode and tried again. Three bullets rapidly fired from the barrel, hoping at least one would catch a lucky hit. The nearest zombie's head exploded in a spray of gore. David fired again, catching another in the chest. It fell over, but was quickly getting back up. David's breathing was beginning to panic as he kept firing at his pursuers.

Then the rifle clicked empty.

"Crap," he muttered. He pulled the magazine out and loaded in his second one. But by the time he started firing, the two groups of zombies had met at the intersection as he kept backing towards the mall. They kept bumping into each and shoving others aside to chase him. There were so many of them that they were jammed together into the street. The abandoned cars slowed them down, but not by much.

He kept firing, killing four, when he tripped and fell onto his back. A grinning skull entered his gaze and he rolled away in horror. The body was covered in camouflaged fatigues that were ripped to shreds. An abandoned rifle laid beside it.

With four grenades strapped to its chest.

David lunged forward pulled one from the strap. He pulled the pin and threw the bomb into the crowd. The seconds ticked by and for one horrible moment, David thought it was a dud when a loud boom and brilliant flash of fire blinded his vision. His ears rung with bodies and pieces were falling around him.

He slowly sat up. The shockwave was enough to halt the group of stiffs. However, there were some that were getting back up. Some of them were actually on fire. Their roasting flesh was enough to make him heave.

David got back to his feet. He pulled the grenade wrap off the dead body and left the carnage behind. He ran/hobbled to nearest vehicle: a humvee. As soon as he opened the door, he noticed the keys were not in ignition, cup-holder, or the visor. He didn't have the time to check the bodies either. He checked two jeeps as well and they didn't have keys either.

_If I survive this, I need to figure out how to hot-wire a car._

The zombies were on the move again, as though the explosion never occurred. David ran from the jeep and into the parking lot. Here he would have a chance to run clear and then maybe catch his breath. But then, something behind one of the humvees caught his eye and he smiled.

Their was an actual military personnel Can-Am spyder roadster with a mounted machine gun on the end of the seat. Even with the passing year, it looked like it was in good condition. The tires were still aired up, no sign of exterior damage and no leaks from the bottom. But were the keys still in it? Was the gas tank still full?

David rushed over to the bike and hopped onto the seat. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the keys still in the ignition. He turned the key on, but the smile slipped off his face when the starter stuttered.

_TRRRR-RA-RA-RA-RA-RAR_

"Come on. Don't this to me! Not now!"

He tried again with same result. And again. The zombies got closer with every second the starter didn't ignite. David didn't know the problem was. The tank gauge said it had about half left. But he ran out of time. The moans were louder than starter. He was bout to turn and run when he remembered the machine gun mount.

David flipped around on the seat and grabbed the turret. He pulled the lever on the side of the machine gun, loading the next bullet into the chamber. He said a quick prayer, hoping the gun was loaded, and held the trigger down on the handles.

The recoil from the shots would have made the gun fly from his hands if it wasn't mounted the the spyder. And would have probably knocked him on his ass too. However, the cascade of bullets was enough to tear through the advancement with a lot of force. The stiffs were practically ripped to pieces and some even blew apart completely. In mere seconds, David had disposed of two dozen zombies. The bullets were even powerful enough to exit out of the bodies and into their comrades.

After about 30 seconds, the gun stopped automatically and clicked repeatedly in David's hands. His hands were numb as he pried them off the handles. The scene that met his eyes was a scene of beauty and carnage. Dozens of bodies littered the ground in front of him. Barely a handful were still intact and were groggily moving. Everything else was nothing but arms, legs, torsos and heads. To top it off, the zombies that were still on their feet kept tripping over their fallen brethren and could not advance as fast as they used too. David turned around and tried starting the spyder once more.

He rocked the vehicle back and forth, trying to get the gas mixed and flowing into the starter. He then closed his eyes and tried again.

_TRRR-RA-RA-RA-VVVRRROOOOOOOMMMMM_

David breathed a heavily sigh of relief and used his foot pop the clutch in first gear. He didn't bother to look behind as he turned the throttle and tore away from the are of death with the tires squealing against the pavement. He just keep driving.

The Can-Am was an interesting vehicle. It was a tri-bike, but there were two wheels in the front instead of the usual one. It was covered with black, camouflaged armor that was harder than a regular ATV's fiber glass. There were a number of dial on the small console. It had the usual Speed, RPM, and fuel gauge, but there was also GPS monitor, two-wave radio, and for some odd reason, a CD player. The GPS battery was dead and David highly doubted the satellite's in spaces were still functioning.

But David had to admit. Despite the situation, the roadster was really fun to drive. He dodged cars with ease and was able to speed up really quickly. Riding the roadster was really no different than riding an ATV.

Traveling along the road, he made a left turn and saw an exit ramp and turnpike in the distance. David chuckled. He headed towards the ramp, breathing a sigh of relief as he saw it unblocked and still standing. He pulled onto the ramp and saw a turnpike sign that read 'Charlotte-next exit' and ' Columbia-I26' on the signs above him.

David smiled. He was back on track and headed home.


End file.
